


Marveille

by smalltrolven



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Daddy Dean, Daddy Sam, Double Penetration, First Kiss, M/M, MMF sex, Multi, Samulet Fix-It, Season 11 au, Seems silly to warn for it, Threesome - F/M/M, but just in case you didn’t read the pairings above, character deaths.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:47:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smalltrolven/pseuds/smalltrolven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Delphine Seydoux returns to the Bunker along with Dean and the exhausted Hand of God. She finds that she fits into Sam and Dean’s complicated lives in a role that surprises all three of them. Together they search for a way to defeat the Darkness and Lucifer and incorporate all the changes that come from the expansion of their family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not my characters, only my words. Written for the 2016 [](http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/profile)[spn_j2_bigbang](http://spn-j2-bigbang.livejournal.com/) An AU that begins in the end of episode 11.14 “The Vessel.” The few French phrases and dialogue used is courtesy of babelfish, please pardon me if they aren’t good translations. Big thanks to my beta, [](http://amypond45.livejournal.com/profile)[amypond45](http://amypond45.livejournal.com/) she wrangled all of my sentence endings like a boss. Such amazing and beautiful artwork from [](http://kaelysta.livejournal.com/profile)[kaelysta](http://kaelysta.livejournal.com/) , thanks for that absolutely perfect baby!

  



	2. Chapter 2

  


_She came back with him._

_He was holding her as the power exploded through her, as she promised to get him home._

_She came through, back to his time._

_He held her so tightly through time’s tide, the swirl of motion and energy buffeting them like particles in a dust storm._

_She somehow held onto him as God’s power moved through her, eyes all aglow with reflected light._

_He had no idea if she was even alive, but he didn’t dare let go._

_She came back with him._

_He brought her back with him to his home. He brought her back with him to his Sam._

Sam and Cas were both shocked into immobility, their mouths hanging open, expressions turning quickly to concern as they saw the woman collapsed in Dean’s arms.

“Delphine!” Dean shouted, supporting her weight as he stumbled towards one of the easy chairs in the main room. He laid her down as gently as he could and felt for her pulse. “She's still alive, I don't know how, but she is,” Dean said.

“I'll just take this off your hands then. Seems like you two have a new friend to play with,” Cas said, grabbing the handkerchief-wrapped Hand of God from Dean.

“Cas? Where the hell were you on the sub?” Dean demanded.

“Dean, it's not him, it's really Lucifer!” Sam yelled from across the room. Dean could now see that Sam was pinned there, unable to move.

“Yep! It’s me. Hey Dean, long time no see. Like I said, good job grabbing this for me. I'll be able to take out Amara now, thanks to you.” Lucifer flung his hand towards Dean and he slammed into the closest wall, held by invisible angel power.

“No!” Dean shouted as Lucifer unwrapped the Hand of God. The angel held the old battered piece of wood in both hands and closed his eyes, waiting for God’s power to overtake him. But nothing happened.

“It’s kicked!” Lucifer yelled.

Dean looked relieved. “Well, who’d’ve thought the Hand of God would turn out to be a one-hitter?”

Lucifer threw the exhausted Hand of God on the table and stalked towards Dean, still vulnerable and pinned to the wall. “Oh buddy, are you ever gonna regret this.”

Everything went bright when Sam slammed his hand onto the angel-banishing sigil he’d managed to draw with his own blood. Both brothers cried out as they were released from Lucifer’s hold as he vanished with the light.

“Are you okay, Sam?” Dean asked as he crossed the room to help Sam stand up. He hugged his brother close and tight, one of those we’re-glad-we’re-not-dead kind of hugs that they unfortunately shared way too often. Dean didn’t want to let go, not ever again, not after all that loss and destruction. He’d thought he’d never see Sam again and here he was in his arms where he belonged.

Sam took a deep breath, obviously trying to relax now that Dean was back and Lucifer was gone. “No, I'm really not. Lucifer has been there in Cas, pretending for a while now, and we had no fucking clue.”

“How?” Dean asked, quickly wrapping a handkerchief around Sam’s bloody hand. Yet again, his brother had bled to save him.

“Cas broke through Lucifer’s hold when he was trying to kill me. Cas said he only wanted to help, so he said yes to Lucifer when we were all down there in the Cage. He bought Lucifer’s promise that it was the only way there was to stop Amara.”

“The idiot,” Dean said, shaking his head in amazement, the ways Cas had screwed up over the years seemed to get worse and worse. “I shouldn't be surprised I guess, but he always manages to come up with some creative new way to fuck up. We'll get him back, you know we will.”

“I don't know, Dean. Cas chose this, he might not want to come back,” Sam said.

“He let the goddamn devil walk out of Hell! Everything you went through, just poof, gone,” Dean said, gesturing with his fingers. Furious on Sam’s behalf since his brother didn’t even seem to be angry about his sacrifice being nullified in an instant.

“I know, believe me, I get it. But you know Cas, when he thinks he's doing the right thing, he's pretty damn stubborn.”

“Can we have this fight another day?” Dean asked, shoulders slumping with a complete exhaustion that came over him with surprising speed.

“So what happened with her? Is she really Delphine Seydoux?” Sam asked, pointing at the collapsed woman in the chair.

“Yeah, that’s her all right. She was using it, the Hand of God thing, to try and sink the German sub that was hunting us. The Nazi dude we thought she'd killed was actually still alive and his sub was behaving really strangely. He was bragging about the sub and his crew having supernatural powers. Delphine was trying to take it out because we didn’t think we could get the warding down in time to get me back here. She held the thing and was glowing with this crazy white-yellow light. Like an angel's grace, but even more somehow and then the next thing I know, bam, we’re both back here.”

“Huh, guess it was accidental good timing. It must have been right when Lucifer was doing the spell to bring you back. But I wonder what happened to the two subs then? Ours and theirs, especially if theirs was supernaturally enhanced somehow. I'll go check and see if anything's changed,” Sam said.

Both of them were all too aware of what effects changing past events could have on the present. Cas himself had made sure they'd remembered that after the whole Titanic debacle. Dean briefly let himself think about Bobby and Ellen, how they’d been so happy together.

“Wait, are _you_ okay, Dean?” Sam asked, holding onto Dean’s shoulder.

Dean tried to shrug him off but Sam was in one of those stubborn moods which he was probably entitled to given the circumstances. “Uh…yeah, I think so. I mean, it was hard just watching all that, knowing all those guys were gonna just die. I went into it knowing I couldn’t do anything about it, but it was still damn hard. And Delphine, I almost killed her, Sam. I mean she straight-up asked me to kill her,” Dean said.

“What?” Sam asked, completely confused, looking between the unconscious woman and his brother.

“She had this weird warding painted inside the ship and also carved on her body. It was tied to her heart somehow, so she had to die to let the ward down.”

“That’s what Lucifer meant when he said he couldn’t get onto the sub. But how is she still alive? And here?” Sam asked.

“Maybe the God power or whatever blasted away the ward without killing her? I don't know how this shit is supposed to work,” Dean said.

“Me either, I'm at least going to go check that the Nazi sub stayed sunk. I'll be back as soon as I find something.”

Sam left the sitting room area and headed back into some other part of the bunker, undoubtedly to wherever his laptop or tablet was. Dean pulled up another chair next to the one Delphine was collapsed in. She was breathing steadily now, and her color seemed to be coming back.

“Delphine? You in there?” Dean asked quietly, unsure if she was asleep or comatose or what.

She heard a voice, familiar, strong and sure. It was him, the one who had been shouting her name before, but now he sounded gentle and worried. Her eyes flung open as she remembered—the Hand—the submarine! “Dean!”

“It's okay, Delphine. You're safe, I swear, you’re safe now,” Dean said, hand on her shoulder to steady her.

She sat up straighter in the chair and smoothed her hair down trying to compose herself while her eyes flew around the room in a panic to understand where she was. _How was she in a room and not in the submarine?_

“Dean? Where...where am I?” Delphine asked, surprised to hear how shaken she sounded to her own ears.

“You're where you were heading, the Men of Letters bunker. But, uh, bad news, you're in my time now,” Dean said, his hand still a gentle, comforting weight on her shoulder.

“How?” Delphine asked, unashamed at sounding completely gobsmacked.

“Hell if I know! I was holding you as you were collapsing and going angel-nuclear or whatever the hell that was, and then my transport back here finally worked. And so…uh…here we are,” Dean said.

“Your transport back here, the angel you said was helping you?” Delphine asked.

“Yeah, kinda,” Dean said. “We'll get into all that later. Are you all right?”

“I guess I am. The submarine though, Gumprecht! Did we get him?” Delphine asked, panicked at the thought that bastard, Gumprecht and his sub had survived.

“Sam is checking for us right now,” Dean said.

“Who is Sam?” Delphine asked, staring around the room now and noticing all the books, a library similar to the one in the Men of Letters house she’d visited in London.

“That would be me,” Sam said, walking towards both of them with a welcoming smile, holding something that looked like a thin book, but the front of it was glassy and brightly glowing. He put out a hand to shake and she took it, looking up at him in awe. She hadn’t seen such a beautiful man since…well since she’d met Dean. But he was so very very tall.

Sam smiled even wider. “It's very nice to meet you, Mademoiselle Seydoux. I’ve read a lot about you,” Sam said.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sam. Please do call me Delphine. I am to assume you are a man of letters also?” Delphine asked, looking between Sam and Dean.

“Yes, I am. And I have some good news for you. Herr Gumprecht is dead, both subs were lost, no wreckage was ever recovered, so hopefully nothing has changed in this timeline.”

“Except for my presence here,” Delphine corrected, brain whirling at the thought of traveling through time to this unknown future.

“Right, good point, except for you being here,” Sam said.

“And also the Hand of God that I brought back with me,” Dean added.

“Where is it, Dean?” Delphine asked.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, and seemed to have a wordless conversation that entranced and frustrated her, these two were so intense. She watched as Sam made a tiny nod towards Dean and hoped it was meant as some sort of encouragement to tell her the truth.

“Remember how I said an angel was how I got onto and off of your sub? Well, he’s the one that wanted it, and he tried to use it, before you woke up. But it’s kicked. It didn’t work again,” Dean said.

“Why would an angel want that power? Does it not already have its own power?” Delphine asked, still not convinced that angels were a reality.

“There’s a reason that I can explain later. Like I said, we’re fighting an even bigger war here in this time,” Dean answered.

“Explain later? I insist you tell me right now. Using that thing should have killed me. I had to have been dead for the ward to have come down. So why is it that I am here and why am I alive?” Delphine demanded, anger rising up through her body so that she had to control a sudden shakiness.

Dean looked to Sam maybe for confirmation or support Delphine thought. She watched as he took a deep breath and prepared to deliver what was probably bad news given how his face looked.

“Okay, this angel, we’ve known him for a few years now. His name is Castiel, and he’s pulled both of us out of Hell.”

Delphine didn’t say anything, but raised her eyebrows which stopped Dean for a moment, but then he continued, “He’s what we’d call an ally, even a friend. But since he’s an angel, he has a different way of looking at things. You could say he’s a bigger picture kind of guy. So he makes what we’d call bad choices sometimes.”

“What was this bad choice? To send you back in time?” Delphine asked, knowing that challenging Dean, when he seemed so hesitant, in this way was rude, but she was desperate to understand their situation.

“No, uh that wasn’t it. Apparently it was something he did before that,” Dean said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “He…uh, he said yes to allowing Lucifer to possess him. And before you ask, yes, _The_ Lucifer.”

“So you are telling me Satan himself, also known as the former angel Lucifer is the one who wanted the Hand of God then? Not your friendly angel?” Delphine asked.

“Right. But we didn’t know that it wasn’t Castiel, not until just now when he tried to kill Sam. And it’s hard to explain, but there is maybe some upside to Lucifer being out there now and why he wanted something so powerful like the Hand of God, because there’s this thing happening here in our time. Remember how back on the sub I said we were fighting a war here in our time? It’s hard to explain, but this entity called the Darkness was released, and as far as we can tell she’s God’s sister. God had her locked up since the time he created everything, and she got out and she’s pissed. Basically she wants to undo everything God ever created.”

“How did she ever manage to get out?” Delphine asked.

Delphine watched as Dean looked to Sam yet again and wondered what Sam’s tiny negative head shake meant. She didn’t know these men well enough to guess this time, but she could tell these two had a whole lot of history between them.

“That’s a really long story, which I promise I’ll tell you,” Dean said, flinching as Delphine struggled to control her anger again. “I promise, Delphine. But I really need to change into some of my own clothes and eat some dinner that isn’t an MRE and have a drink, and I bet you do too.”

“You are right, Dean. I understand, but I will hold you to your promise for the whole story,” Delphine said with a shake of one finger.

Delphine watched Sam grin at seeing Dean be reprimanded and she wondered why that would be.

“Delphine, let me show you where the bathroom is in case you need to freshen up. From experience I know that’s something you need to do after time traveling,” Sam said, leading her down the hall towards the bathroom as Dean headed off to their bedroom to change.

Delphine looked at him surprised that he also knew about time traveling and Sam laughed.

“Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all about it if you really want to hear. Being a hunter and knowing an angel ends up creating a lot of opportunities for time travel.”

Delphine didn’t say anything, just shook her head and followed along the hallway with Sam, matching his long strides easily.

“There it is through there. Towels and robes are in the cabinet on the right, feel free to use the soap and stuff if you want. Anyway, I’ll just go and let you get situated.” Sam said, suddenly and adorably flustered.

“I thank you, Sam,” Delphine said, smiling at him even though she felt so unsure. She turned towards the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Sam heard her begin to cry but decided he’d give her the privacy she probably needed. He was down the hallway and in their bedroom in a few strides. Dean was in the middle of changing his shirt and Sam gasped at the bruises on his back. He reached out to touch them lightly and Dean hissed at the contact.

“Sorry,” Sam said, backing away.

“No, ’s okay, Sammy. You just surprised me,” Dean said, pulling his brother back into his arms. They held each other and didn’t say anything, just reconnected through this simple touch.

“I’m so glad you’re back Dean, he…he said you were gone,” Sam whispered into Dean’s neck.

“Of course I’m back,” Dean said in a soft voice. “I always come back, right?”

“And you brought company this time,” Sam said with a chuckle. “She’s really something.”

“I’ll say. Did you check out the gams on that dame?” Dean asked.

“I think you were stuck in the forties too long again, dude,” Sam said, biting at Dean’s neck possessively, sucking the flesh into his mouth until he could feel it warm with blood. Something about Dean still noticing women got under his skin, and Dean knew it too. It pissed Sam off, not knowing if Dean was trying to rile him up or if he really was attracted to Delphine. Honestly, he wouldn’t blame him if he was.

“Sam?” Delphine asked, knocking lightly at the mostly open door. She gasped in surprise as she saw them in their tight embrace. Sam looked up from over Dean’s shoulder, teeth letting go of his hold on Dean’s neck, flashing a nervous smile.

“Hey, what do you need, Delphine?” Sam asked.

She wrapped the grey wool robe tighter around herself, not meeting his eyes. “I am sorry to interrupt. I can wait in the…” Delphine trailed off as she backed through the doorway.

“No, wait, hold on, I’ll show you your room,” Sam said stepping towards her, he paused and turned back to Dean. “I’m going to put her in the one Charlie had fixed up, if that’s okay with you, Dean?”

Dean nodded and turned away, not sure why he was so embarrassed to be caught in an embrace with Sam. Delphine didn’t know them, or who they were to each other. And sure she was from the forties so it was probably a shock to see two men together. But she wouldn’t be here for too long, and Sam and he had needed that moment. She’d just have to get over it. He listened to Sam lead Delphine away down the hall and collapsed on his bed, stretching out and trying to work the kinks out of his back. Time travel always did a number on his back.

He stared up at his familiar ceiling with eyes that soon clouded over with a film of tears, he’d known this was coming, but was glad he was alone for this. _One of his only friends left was now hosting Lucifer. Cas had chosen that!_ He shook his head on his pillow frustrated that his clueless angel friend was still...so damn clueless after all this time. How did he not know that letting Lucifer free was the worst thing he could possibly do to Sam, to them—to the whole freaking world? Dean felt for the old wounds of losing Sam to that hole in the ground for more than a year, they were still there, he knew they always were going to be there. Nothing could ever wipe that loss away from his memory of watching his brother throw himself away down into that pit to save the world, to save him.

The tears continued for a while until his ears were filling up with them which was almost as annoying as crying itself was to him, he hated how powerless he felt just then. He turned his head back and forth on his pillow to wipe them away and wrapped his arms around himself. Dean tried to calm himself down with what was the most important thing, he was back here in the right time with Sam, and that’s the only thing that ever mattered to him. Everything else was just details compared to having his brother by his side. Although Delphine was a rather large detail, he wondered how she would adjust to being in the future, he hadn’t known her long, but she seemed like a curious, well-read person who was adaptable and pretty handy in a fight. A lot like Sam really, and that made him wonder again, but for a different and even more unsettling reason.

Sam led Delphine out of Dean’s room and several doors down the hall to the room Charlie had always stayed in when she visited. “I’m not sure of the state of the room, but I know Charlie had at least cleared out most of the left-behind Men of Letters junk, hopefully it’s livable at least for tonight.”

“Who is this Charlie, is he another Man of Letters?” Delphine asked as she passed by Sam and entered the room. It was small, tidy, and utilitarian. The quilt on the bed was in shades of green that seemed to be silk. She ran her hand over it and sighed at the softness. At least her sleep would be pleasant, a room to herself, no gigantic Nazi officer to pretend to be attracted to, and surrounded by these two men who were the most beautiful men she’d seen in a very long time. She had held herself back from flirting too much with Dean on the submarine, but that was because she’d been on a mission. Now, well, now, there was no mission, she had been successful in a way, even if she was out of her time, with no way back.

“Charlie was…uh…she was our friend, and an unofficial Woman of Letters. She died in battle not too long ago. She was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. We both miss her. If you wouldn’t mind, don’t mention her name around Dean, okay?”

“Was she his lover?” Delphine asked.

“No,“ Sam coughing in evident surprise at the idea. “Uh…no, she wasn’t into men. Dean said he felt like her older brother, so it was like losing a family member, for both of us really.”

“Well, I am truly sorry for your loss, Sam. She sounds as if she was a quite interesting person, I regret not having the opportunity to make her acquaintance.”

“She’d have enjoyed meeting you, I can just imagine you two together, you would have driven Dean crazy,” Sam said.

“I also apologize for earlier, for interrupting you with Dean. I know all too well what it is like to return from a mission to reunite with your lover. I can only imagine what it was like to have him gone into the past with no method to retrieve him.”

Sam blushed immediately, which Delphine found both adorable and charming. “Thanks, you’re right. Having Dean go back into the past isn’t something I’ve ever managed to get used to. He’s always made it back to me, so far. But…the idea of him being stuck somewhere without…”

Delphine crossed the room and took one of Sam’s big hands in hers, she felt overwhelmed at how big he was up close like this. But even more striking was the enormity of his relief at not having to grieve. She squeezed his hand several times and looked up into his face. It was adorable how he was trying and failing to hide his emotions. “I quite understand, Sam. I have lost people I have been very close to, and it never gets easier in my experience. But Dean is back home here with you, right?”

Sam nodded, “Thanks for being so understanding.” He impulsively swept her up into a big hug.

“Why…what are you hugging me for?” Dephine asked in surprise.

“I’m not really sure why, to thank you for caring, and maybe because you sounded so lost and alone,” he hugged her even tighter. “Thank you, Delphine, for bringing him back to me.”

Delphine couldn’t breathe anything but Sam, this enormous man engulfing her senses, blanking out any memory of another who had ever held her. No one had ever held her like this. She melted into him, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him down to kiss him gently on the cheek.

They pulled apart when they heard the scuff of a boot at the edge of the doorway. They both caught sight of Dean’s swiftly departing back.

“I…uh, I gotta go. You have a rest, Dean and I’ll figure out something for dinner and let you know.”

“Thank you for your kind welcome, Sam,” Delphine said with a nod, smiling a little at his urgency. He was going to have to explain their embrace, and she wondered what he would be saying to Dean.

Sam caught up to Dean in the main library room, holding a tumbler nearly full of whisky in one hand and poking at the exhausted Hand of God with one finger.

“Dean? You okay?” Sam asked.

“Just relaxing, thinking, having a drink to celebrate being back,” Dean said, saluting him with the glass and shooting back almost half of its contents.

“Slow down and I’ll catch up with you,” Sam said, stepping towards the bar cart and pouring himself a few fingers of whisky into his own glass. “Here’s to you making it back to the right year.”

Dean nodded and raised his glass a token amount, mouth set in a hard line that relaxed into a one-sided smile. That teasing smile that Sam knew so very well. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you out here for a while.”

“What? Why?” Sam asked.

“Just figured you were ‘getting to know’ Delphine, that’s all,” Dean said, making one handed air quotes around the ‘getting to know’ part.

Of course Dean would be fixated on that, Sam thought, internally grimacing. “I was just thanking her for bringing you back to me. And she kissed me on the cheek. That’s all it was, pretty sure it’s a French thing.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, I saw how she was lookin’ at you, Sammy. I can’t blame her,” Dean said.

“Dean, why do you have to fixate on something like this? Just…god, be glad you’re back for a second, okay? That’s what I’m doing.”

Dean saluted him with his glass and drained it completely. He stood up and leaned against the table a little unsteadily then made it to the bar cart, refilling his glass so it sloshed over the edge.

“You really okay, Dean?” Sam asked, concerned that Dean’s retreat into drinking so much meant something more than jealousy or worry about him starting something with Delphine.

“No, no I am not okay. I just found out my friend was dumb enough to let Lucifer in, the Hand of God I went back in time for is used up and useless against Amara, I had to watch an entire submarine of people I couldn’t save just die, you’re all beat to shit by Lucifer, Amara is still out there, oh and we’ve got this poor woman stuck in our time now.”

“It’s a whole lot at once. But we’ll make it through, one step at a time, right?” Sam said, smiling encouragingly.

Dean snorted and drank half of the whisky in his glass.  He sat down across the table from Sam and looked at his brother for a long moment without saying anything. “It’s okay if you want her, Sammy, it really is. She’s beautiful, smart and into research and history and languages and she’s also a kick-ass fighter. She’s totally your type, man, I’m just puttin’ that out there.”

“Well, there’s no need. Not like there’s going to be much time for something like that to happen. Besides we need to get her back to her time, right?”

“Do we? Wouldn’t that screw things up, since she was supposed to die along with all the other people on those two subs? If she goes back there and keeps kicking ass for the Men of Letters, who knows what that could change?” Dean asked, staring into the depths of his whisky glass.

“Huh, you’re probably right. And now that I think about it, we don’t have anyone around to send her back anyway,” Sam said. “Why are you always so good at figuring out this time-travel stuff?”

“Schwarzenegger man, taught me all I ever needed to know,” Dean said with a laugh.

“So, you are not going to send me back to my time then?” Delphine asked from her spot leaning up against the hallway’s arch.

“Did you hear that whole thing?” Dean asked.

“The part about the time travel, or the part about how I’m a…what was it? A kick-ass fighter?” Delphine said with a small grin.

“See, I told you, she’s a keeper, Sam,” Dean said, pointing back and forth between the two of them.

Sam crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes at Dean.


	3. Part 2 of 7

That first night, Sam and Dean were too exhausted to do anything other than lie naked in each other’s arms. Sam fell asleep first because feeling Dean’s arms around him, hearing his familiar heartbeat and comforting warmth was the best sort of lullaby. He awakened a few hours later to the sounds of a woman’s terrified screams. He was up and out of their warm bed in a flash, grabbing his brother’s robe to cover his nakedness. Delphine’s door was closed, but thankfully not locked. Sam knocked and entered; she had the bedside lamp on, so he could see her thrashing on the bed as if she was being attacked, her face screwed up in terror and pain. Another shout from her had him sitting on the bed, holding her shoulders.

“Delphine, Delphine, wake up. It’s just a nightmare,” Sam said.

She shuddered under his hands, eyes blinking slowly open. “Sam?”

“Yeah, it’s just me. Are you okay?”

“Did I wake you? I’m so sorry,” Delphine said, sleep-slurred and adorable.

Sam stroked his hand over her hair, soothing and slow. “It’s okay, happens a lot around here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Want to talk about it?”

“No, just..I can’t ask you,” Delphine trailed off.

“Shoot, go ahead, ask anything,” Sam said.

“I am so embarrassed to ask you. Would you stay with me, just until I fall asleep again?” Delphine asked.

“Of course. Please don’t feel bad for asking, both Dean and I have had nightmare issues over the years. Comes with the job,” Sam said, tightening the belt on his robe, then climbing onto the bed with her. He chose not to slip under the covers because he was naked under the robe, and it seemed like the last thing she needed to deal with on top of nightmares. He slid one arm under her pillow and pulled her to him with his other, spooning her from behind, hoping that she’d feel most protected this way. “That good?” Sam asked.

She murmured something unintelligible and very possibly in French in a sleepy voice and Sam felt her body relax against his. His thoughts turned to what Dean had said in the library over whisky, how he’d assumed that Sam would want to be with Delphine, and here he was a few hours later holding her in her bed. Too many memories of Dean’s sarcastic voice saying _big brother’s always right_ played on a loop that lulled him to sleep.

Delphine woke up warm and comfortable, but feeling like someone was watching her. She opened her eyes and saw Dean standing in her open doorway. The look on his face was a curious mixture of sadness, relief and perhaps even jealousy. Although she couldn’t tell whether it was that Sam was in her bed, or that Dean himself was not. She smiled at him and gestured for Dean to come closer. He did so with real reluctance, as if he was hesitant to interrupt both of them.

“I had a nightmare, and Sam came to help me,” Delphine whispered. Dean’s eyes flicked between her face and the places where Sam was touching her. His eyes darkened with something she couldn’t name. He nodded and turned to leave, shoulders slumped in resignation. She fell back asleep wondering what happened to the last person who’d tried to come between these two men. To all appearances they seemed unbreakable, perfectly made for each other. But Dean’s reaction made her wonder; it certainly made for a more pleasant dream than her nightmare.

The next time she awoke, she was alone, and her door was closed. She stretched under the bedcovers and ran her hands over the silk fabric of the quilt. The beautiful lamp on the bedside table reflected colored shapes onto the ceiling that were lovely to spend time daydreaming about. She recalled her dream, a hazy image of waking up in a large bed between two men came back to her and shivered at the memory of the endless pleasures that she’d dreamed. It seemed impossible and she tried to forcibly shove it out of her mind as she readied herself to go find some breakfast. She knew it would be hard to keep something like that to herself if either of them caught wind of her imagined desires.

“You looked very happy this morning, that’s all I’m sayin’, Sam,” Dean said, gesturing with the full coffee cup and sloshing a little onto the table between them.

Sam scowled and wiped at the splash of coffee with his napkin. “Dude, I woke up because she was screaming last night. She had a really bad nightmare, she asked me to stay with her until she fell asleep, and I guess I did too. It doesn’t mean anything, nothing happened between us.”

“Oh okay, it was just you being practically naked and holding her all night. Right, got it,” Dean shot a scowl back at Sam. “I told you last night, it’s okay with me if you go for it with her, Sam. It really is. Just be honest about it, don’t be a little bitch.”

“You are such a damn jerk sometimes, it’s like all those times I’ve told you I only have ever wanted you just don’t matter. You want to play matchmaker so badly, fine. Then I’ll just tell you the same thing, if you want to get something going with Delphine, I have no problem with it, go for it. She’s just your type, dude, knock-out beautiful, spirited, smart and someone who can keep you in line with just her words.”

Before Dean could do more than intensify his scowl they were both interrupted by a lovely, feline voice from the hallway. 

“Gentlemen, good morning,” Delphine said. She was dressed in the clothes Sam had found for her in the Men of Letters supply room. Wool slacks that fit her very well, a man’s white oxford button-down shirt and a fuzzy grey wool sweater thrown over her shoulders. Her long dark hair was brushed and shiny, she looked perfect until you examined her eyes. She still looked a bit shell-shocked, but at least she was also amused, which meant she’d heard them basically fighting over her like two Neanderthals.

Sam stood up and pointed at the coffee maker. “We’ve got some coffee going, and Dean was about to make us some breakfast.”

“I was?” Dean asked with a teasing grin that lasted until he saw Sam’s scowl. “Sure, eggs coming up. How do you like yours, Delphine?”

“Fried or boiled, I do not have a preference,” Delphine answered turning to the incomprehensible coffee machine. What was this contraption?

“I’ll make some toast, we still have some of that whole-wheat bread in the freezer?” Sam asked.

Dean nodded and smiled at him from across the kitchen, one of those smiles that Dean didn’t realize quite how much they affected Sam, it was so damn fond, it practically shouted how besotted Dean was. He had no idea how much it made Sam’s heart happy to see that smile. Sam tried to send back the feeling with his own smile and Dean caught it, but he flicked his eyes to Delphine meaningfully. Sam’s brows furrowed as he wondered if Dean was embarrassed to be showing so much emotion in front of their guest or if he wanted Sam to cut it out and make a move on Delphine. 

It was much too early for all this game playing, so Sam busied himself with finding the bread in the freezer and doling it out into the old-fashioned conveyor belt toaster-oven contraption. Dean had threatened to replace the thing with a modern toaster, saying it took up too much room and was going to burn the place down, but Sam had insisted on keeping it because it made the best toast he’d ever had. Perfect on both sides, the crusts never burned as long as you didn’t adjust the settings and kept it at number three in the middle. 

Once he had the toast started, he noticed that Delphine still didn’t have a cup of coffee in her hands. He was at her side in a few steps, showing her how to use the modern coffee machine. So many things like this were going to be hard for her at first. But she made adorably ecstatic noises once she’d had her first sip of coffee, sitting at the table watching the two of them move around the kitchen.

“It is like watching a dance performance. You two in the kitchen are so well coordinated,” Delphine observed.

“Well, we’ve been at it for a lot of years,” Dean said.

“How long have you been together?” Delphine asked.

“Seems like our whole lives doesn’t it Sammy?” Dean asked with a mischievous grin. Sam’s eyebrows raised at Dean still emphasizing their ruse and not informing Delphine that they were brothers. It was too early for him to make an attempt at that though so he kept quiet.

“Pretty much, it’s been a lot of years,” Sam said, hoping that was vague enough. Once the truth came out, and he knew it would, at least he would be able to say he hadn’t overtly lied to her.

“I imagined it was a long-term relationship. You two are quite beautiful together,” Delphine said as she sipped at her coffee, eyes flicking back and forth between them with a mischievous curl to her lips.

Dean snorted and turned back to the stove and stirred the eggs. Sam saw the back of his neck flushing red with embarrassment. “Uh, thanks, not many people have said that to us,” Sam said, sipping at his own coffee.

“Is it not acceptable in your time?” Delphine asked, “For two men to be together?”

“It’s becoming more acceptable, gay marriage is now the law in our country, just this last year in fact,” Sam said.

“It really has taken that long, has it? I’m surprised at that, actually, but then, in my time, we were still dealing with a world gone mad with hating the Jews.”

“Antisemitism is still around, unfortunately, but it’s not socially acceptable in most places, thank goodness,” Sam answered.

“So am I to understand that you two are married?” Delphine asked.

“Us? No…uh, no we’re not,” Sam stammered and gulped his coffee. Dean turned from the stove and glared at Delphine with the spatula raised in the air.

Delphine met Dean’s glare and returned an apologetic smile. “I am so sorry to have offended you, please forgive me.”

Dean shrugged and turned back to stirring the eggs, leaving Sam to deal with this thorny issue. Sam thought about it, was it an issue? Well…not really thorny, or an issue, because they’d never talked about it. Not straight out like that anyway.

“It wasn’t offensive, it’s just not something we’ve had much opportunity to think about or discuss,” Sam said.

“For myself, I was not ever able to marry. It seemed too much of a risk because of the job, and the unending travel, which I am sure you would both understand.”

“That’s been our experience too, involving anyone else in our lives just doesn’t seem to work out,” Sam said.

Delphine’s brow furrowed and she slightly tilted her head. “My understanding was that the Men of Letters were encouraged to have a family, to produce legacies to carry on the work.”

“Well, we are legacies, but we weren’t exactly trained as official Men of Letters. Unfortunately all of them but one were dead by the time we even found out about the Letters a couple years ago,” Sam explained.

Delphine clutched her hands against her chest in a protective gesture. “Bon Dieu non! How can this be?”

“Oh god, I’m so sorry, Delphine, I shouldn’t have just said it like that. I forgot they were your friends back then, in your time,” Sam said, feeling like a real jerk to have just laid all that horrible news out for her without warning. 

She didn’t say anything, just kept shaking her head like she couldn’t believe the truth of Sam’s words.

“It’s a long story, but back in the fifties, a high-level demon named Abaddon infiltrated the group by possessing one of the members and she managed to kill everyone but one guy who gave us the key to this place. We’ve only been piecing together what the Letters really was as an organization by poking around in the files here.”

“This is unbelievable to me. Not only do I find myself in the wrong time, but the sole reason I am even here, the group I was a member of is gone as well. All those people, and after all those centuries of work, just gone,” Delphine said, still shaking her head with a lost look in her eyes.

“The information is here at least, I’ve been going through it and learning the cataloging system. We’ve found one other place where the Letters had supernatural things hidden and there’s probably more out there. It’s not all completely gone is what I’m saying. You being here is a big deal for us, maybe you can help us put together some of the puzzle pieces, show us what we’ve missed,” Sam said, holding one of Delphine’s hands on top of the table next to their empty coffee cups.

Dean approached the table with plates of eggs and toast and raised an eyebrow at their joined hands. Sam frowned at him to cut it out and released Delphine’s hand so they could eat.

“After we’re done, I’ll show you around, so you can see how far we’ve gotten on figuring out how to use the Men of Letter’s catalog,” Sam said.

“Sam’s got the whole thing worked out, it’s pretty amazing. I’ve been working on the storage rooms and what’s in all the boxes. There’s so much supernatural stuff locked up in this place, it gets almost boring after a while,” Dean said, with a mouthful of eggs.

“You’re what’s left of it all, then. Just you two,” Delphine said, pointing a finger that wavered between the two men.

“That’s us, end of the line I guess,” Dean said, scraping up the last of his eggs with a crust of toast.

“It must not end with you. It can’t, you mustn’t let it. You don’t understand the importance…” Delphine trailed off, her eyes going unfocused and blurred with tears.

Sam was at her side in a moment, pulling her up into a hug. “It’s okay, Delphine, I gotcha.”

“It won’t be, Sam. It won’t, unless you can pass this legacy on to someone, that’s the whole point of it,” she mumbled into his chest.

Dean made himself known on the other side of the room, clinking the breakfast dishes in the sink. Sam looked over Delphine’s shoulder at Dean, took in the body language and instantly saw that Dean was jealous. Something about the way his body was held, erect and careful, his eyes not meeting Sam’s. Sam turned his attention back to Delphine who was pushing him away.  She hurried down the hall and Sam heard her door close with a slam.

Sam came up behind Dean and looped his arms around Dean’s waist, holding his brother close. “I missed waking up with you this morning,” he murmured into the side of Dean’s neck.

Dean shrugged him off without saying anything, his shoulders going even tighter.

“Hey, remember what you said, Dean? You were all for me trying for something with her, right? That’s not what this was, not at all. But if you’re reacting all jealous like this just because I’m comforting someone that’s just lost everything, well you need to get over yourself,” Sam said, crossing his arms and waiting for Dean’s answer.

Dean finished the dishes in what seemed like slow-motion, but then he finally turned to look at Sam while he was drying his hands on the towel. “This is not me being jealous. Well, maybe a little, but not because you maybe want to be with her, because like I said, I’m totally okay with that. I guess I’m realizing I wish I had a chance at something like that, especially because of what she was talking about with the whole legacy thing.”

“You mean, you want to have a child with Delphine? Someone to pass the Letters to?”

“No, yes…I don’t know, maybe?” Dean answered, sounding deeply unsure of himself.

Dean’s answer hit him hard, it was so unexpected. Sam gave himself a moment to steady his voice. “Like I said before she came in this morning, I’ve only ever wanted to be with you, Dean. So she’s all yours I guess,” Sam said, trying to hide the sadness he felt at the thought of Dean truly wanting to be with someone else. They’d always tried to be flexible about that, women coming and going throughout all the time they’d been together. It never meant anything though, it was never long-term. And that’s what Delphine could be for Dean. Maybe he could find some happiness again with her. He searched Dean’s face and saw that his brother looked hopeful just at the idea. Sam turned to leave so that he wouldn’t screw this up for Dean before it even had a chance.

“Sammy!” Dean called after him. Sam shrank into himself a little and hurried to his room, closing the door behind him.  He hoped Dean would leave him be for now, so that he could cobble together a game face to try and wear in front of both of them. 

Dean followed Sam partway down the hall and stopped himself when he heard his brother’s door click closed, maybe even locked. He sagged against the wall and tried to think about how to get this across to Sam. He wasn’t understanding what Dean had been saying, obviously. And that part about never wanting to be with anyone but Dean was something he had tried to believe, but he couldn’t see how it was true based on their history. 

The whole time they were growing up, his brother had always wanted a normal life, wife, family, stable home, the whole shebang. The one time Dean had gotten that with Lisa, he’d hated every moment of it. That’s why he knew trying for something with anyone that wasn’t in the life wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth the risk for the other person, and not worth the risk of having his heart broken again. He’d thought that he and Sam, being together was the end of the story, he really hadn’t considered trying another relationship again. He hadn’t wanted to, because he had Sam, and with the world so screwed up right now, it seemed pointless.

“Dean?” Delphine asked, impatience written in every line of her beautiful body, like she might have been trying to get his attention for a while. 

He blinked slowly, coming out of his Sam-induced daze, focusing on the woman in front of him. “Hey, Delphine, what’s up?”

“You are having a fight with Sam then?”

“Nah, this is nothin’, you should see us when we really get going,” Dean said, standing up a little straighter, spreading his shoulders wider. He liked how much shorter she was than him, he’d forgotten how nice it was to view your partner from this angle. “Hey, would you wanna go out somewhere with me for dinner tonight? I can show you around the little town we’re near. It’s kinda stuck in the fifties, so hopefully it won’t be too crazy for you.”

“I would enjoy that. Will Sam be accompanying us?” Delphine asked.

“No, I think he needs a night off by himself to stew. You’ve caught us in the middle of a lot of big stuff, so we’re a little more to handle than usual. C’mon, I’ll make us some more coffee, and I’ll fill you in on the whole story we didn’t spill last night.” Dean headed back to the kitchen and busied himself with making another pot of coffee. 

  
Delphine poked around at the various items on the kitchen’s open shelving, picking things up, examining them until she seemed satisfied as to what they were likely used for, then placing them back in the exact spot. 

Dean grinned as he watched her feel her way around the room. “You can ask questions about all this stuff you don’t recognize if you need to, don’t feel weird about it. I’ve been in enough different times, that I know how nice it would be to have a translator that knows what’s going on and where I’m from.”

“Sam mentioned that you had both time-traveled before. What other times have you visited?” Delphine asked, perching on the edge of the kitchen table.

Dean stirred the coffee grounds in the French Press and set the lid on it to brew. Sam didn’t like coffee made this way, so usually they used the electric coffee pot, but he had a feeling their guest being French, would appreciate it. “Uh…let’s see, well I’ve been to the seventies, twice, Sam’s been once. That had to do with our parents and this demon named Azazel. I went to a version of the near future once, sent there by an angel named Zachariah who wanted us to start the Apocalypse. We both went to an alternative present where the Titanic hadn’t been sunk. That one was courtesy of our angel friend, Cas when he thought he was gonna make Heaven over all by himself.”

“This Cas, he sounds a bit unstable to me, from some of the things you have both mentioned.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it. He’s been watching humanity for most of our history, but he hasn’t learned as much as he probably should have by now. This latest thing he’s done though, saying yes to Lucifer, I still haven’t figured that one out.”

“It does seem very confusing. Were there any other times you’ve traveled to?”

“Oh yeah, Sam and I went back to eighteen-sixty-one, looking for some phoenix ash. That was also Cas powered. And I got zapped back to around your time, huh, just thought of that, it was nineteen-forty-four, and the god Chronos was the culprit for that one. Sam brought me back here with a spell he managed to dig up.”  Dean pushed down the top of the coffee press and then poured two cups. “You want milk or sugar?”

Delphine shook her head and accepted the steaming cup of black, rich coffee. “This is perfect, as good as any I have tasted in France. I am not sure what to say about all your traveling through time. Hearing it listed out so matter-of-factly like that is unexpected. I had of course read about time travel in the Letter’s files in France, but to me it sounded like a very rare thing.”

“I wasn’t bragging or anything, it’s just the lives we’ve led in the last few years.”

“I did not think you were bragging at all, Dean. It is just amazing to me, all those years, back and forth so many times. Angels, gods, it is all so hard to imagine.”

“Hah! Try livin’ it!” Dean chortled.

“I guess I have begun just that, have I not?” Delphine asked. “Do you have any idea why I’m alive and here? Because I know that I must have died on that sub, the Hand of God killed me, and I was dead, that would be the only reason the warding would have gone down so that your angel—oh no that’s not right, Lucifer was able to take you back here.”

“I have one hunch, but you’re probably not gonna like it. After Sam let Lucifer out of the cage he was locked in, down in Hell, well, there was a similar thing to when you used the Hand of God. At the time we thought it was the angel force of Lucifer escaping. But, the thing is, we should have been dead. Sam and I were right there when the whole place exploded, and then we just weren’t. We were on an airplane, watching a tower of that angel power or whatever the hell it was, shoot straight up into the sky.”

“If it was not Lucifer, then who or what could it have been?” Delphine asked.

“Personally, I think it was God, but don’t tell Sam that.”

“Why? Is he not a believer?” Delphine asked.

“No, it’s just the opposite. Sam is still a believer, always has been, even before we knew there were anything like angels. And the things we’ve seen, well it’s like God has left the building most of the time and we’re on our own while the angels and demons fight over us like a puppy chew-toy. That’s just it, Sam needs to believe in something and I don’t want him giving up on having that like I have.”

“You have given up on believing in God?” Delphine asked.

“I don’t know if I ever did, after our mom was burned up by a demon when I was four, it didn’t seem like anyone was watching over us, you know?”

“You were so young. I am very sorry, Dean,” Delphine said, taking his hand in her warm one.  “I am the same as you, I do not believe. It is not possible after the things I have witnessed during this war.”

“It’s bad, huh? When I was back there in forty-four, I was here in the US, in Chicago, so it wasn’t a war-zone situation. There were soldiers, enlisted guys in the streets, and recruiting posters, things on the radio, but all of that was far away from all the awful battlefield stuff.”

“Do give yourself a bit more credit, it sounds to me as if you and Sam have been fighting a war of sorts for quite a while now. Not with war machines and armies, but still very consequential. I believe you mentioned the Apocalypse, correct?”

Dean ducked his head and felt himself blush at her words. It was true, he did feel like a combat veteran sometimes. And he hadn’t even told her too much about his stint in Hell, or Sam’s for that matter. Plenty of time for that too, that and breaking the news that he and Sam are _oh by the way_ , brothers.

“Want to see the cars we’ve got in our garage here?” Dean asked, knowing he was changing the subject, but needing to so badly he didn’t care how it came off to her.

“Yes, that sounds like a good change of pace from worrying about the supernatural and the divine.”

Dean led her down the stairs to the garage and flipped the bank of overhead lights on. He heard her gasp as she examined the row of classic vehicles. “Some of these are familiar to me, others must be more recent. Oh this looks very similar to the one that we had when I was a girl,” Delphine said, hurrying to the side of the long, dark blue Packard. “Tell me it still runs,” she pleaded.

Grinning wide at her big-eyed enthusiasm Dean opened the door for her so she could slide into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, of course it’s running. You have to understand, I spend a lot of my time down here while Sam’s researching. We can take this one for a spin tonight when we go out.”

“Will it not raise attention here? Would this car not be excessively eye-catching because it is so old?” Delphine asked, delicate hands clenched around the enormous steering wheel.

“You haven’t seen downtown on a Thursday night. There’s hardly anyone there _to_ notice,” Dean chuckled.

“Where is this place? The bunker I mean, I had not thought to ask, and the mission I was on was purposefully vague,” Delphine asked.

“We are at the exact center of the continental United States of America, Lebanon, Kansas which is located about two hundred miles from the closest big city.”

“Two hundred miles, that is such a distance! Is there a map? I am not that well-versed in my knowledge of American cities.”

“Sure, of course,” Dean said, stepping away to reach into the Impala’s glove box and pull out a map of the USA. Delphine joined him as he unfolded it on top of her hood and poked a finger down on their approximate location. “See, here’s us, and over here is Kansas City.”

Delphine examined the map carefully. “I have never been here, to the United States. It is all just pictures from movies to me.”

“Same for me for France, only place I’ve ever been besides Canada and Mexico which don’t count since you can drive there, is Scotland and that was to dig up the bones of the King of Hell.”

“Everything is quite a story with you, Dean Winchester,” Delphine said, looking up into his eyes with the cocky smile he’d first seen back on the submarine.

“Like I said, I’m not just name-dropping to impress you or anything, it’s just the life we’ve been livin’.”

“And live it you have indeed.”

Later that night as she was preparing to go outside of the Bunker for the first time, Delphine reviewed the conversations she’d had with the two men guiding her through accepting being in the future. There was something about them that she couldn’t quite place. Some of the words they had used, perhaps it was not being a native English speaker, but Dean had clearly said: ‘our mother’ when he was speaking about her death. Which meant there was a sibling that hadn't been mentioned, which was strange; and Sam had said they were both Letters legacies, what were the chances that two men who were unrelated and untrained as legacies would find this place? 

Was it possible they were brothers? She could see why they would not immediately volunteer that information if that were true. Most people would not react well to an incestuous relationship, so she found her own reaction curious. They were beautiful together, not just physically, but in the way they treated each other, clearly treasuring one another above everything else. If it was true, she found that she didn’t care, it was their business, and from the sounds of it they’d lived a very chaotic, terrifying life together. Imagining them together romantically though, well that was not something she’d say no to having a chance to confirm. Just the thought of it was definitely arousing, _just in time for her outing with Dean, wonderful._

She promised herself she would be circumspect and allow them to tell her in their own time. And she would certainly not push the subject tonight. As close as she already felt with these two men, she did not know them well enough to predict either of their reactions. And she had already heard them arguing over who should ‘try for something with her’ which was somehow adorable. She promised herself that would be something she’d work on tonight, finding out what that meant in this day and age.


	4. Part 3 of 7

“Sam, I’m taking Delphine out for some dinner, gonna show her around town for a little while. Just lettin’ you know,” Dean said to Sam’s closed door. He heard a mumbled okay from inside, and waited to see if Sam would add anything else. He sighed when there wasn’t anything else forthcoming. “Bye!” he called, then walked down the hall to knock on Charlie’s…no…it was Delphine’s door now. He still wasn’t used to it, and wished for what he knew wouldn’t be the last time that Sam had chosen another room for her to use. 

She answered his knock quickly and he stepped back to take in the full view. She’d found some of the small amount of vintage women’s clothing in the bunker and chosen a beautiful sleeveless, navy blue silk dress, it had a long full skirt and it clung to her body in all the right places, showing off her trim figure. She looked powerful and alluring and he could see why she’d been able to charm the pants off a Nazi officer and completely fool him. She’d curled her hair somehow and it flowed in a beautiful gentle wave along the edges of her face and trailed down past her shoulders. The earrings that she wore were a tear drop shape, maybe a pearl and he wondered where she’d found them.

“Wow, Delphine, you clean up real good,” Dean said, offering her his arm.

“As do you, Mr. Winchester,” Delphine said with a smile, threading her arm through his. They walked through the halls and into the garage arm-in-arm. 

As they approached the Packard, Dean stopped and dug in his jacket pocket, he pulled out a key ring and handed it to her. “Here you go.”

“You wish me to drive?”

“I thought you might like to try it. If you don’t feel like it, we can do it another time. But it’s not full-dark out yet. I can drive us back later.” 

“Oh, the dark is not the problem, I do not know the American rules of driving, or how they might be different in this time.”

“I’ll coach ya, don’t worry,” Dean said with a chuckle.

Delphine slid in behind the wheel and cranked the ignition on, the old car burst into life, rumbling noisy and powerful in the echoey garage. Dean directed her towards the exit and the small two-lane highway. He settled in as he grew comfortable with her driving. He’d never been able to drive the Packard very well, it was just so huge, and the steering was very different from any other car he’d driven. She seemed very at ease though, and even more beautiful to him behind the wheel.

“This is not so bad after all,” Delphine said, smiling wide.

There wasn’t much to impress Delphine with in the area of Kansas that they lived in, but Dean did his best, showing her the wide open plains outside of town, the grain elevator, the library and school, the kitschy Geographic Center of the USA that was of course closed at night. He promised they could come back if she absolutely felt it was necessary; and then it was on to the one restaurant that they tended to frequent for sit-down meals, it wasn’t a diner exactly, a small step up from that and it was near a small lake so there was always fresh fish on the menu. Tonight there were even mostly clean tablecloths on the tables. Dean was greeted by the staff, with questions about Sam and how he was. He introduced Delphine as a friend. She was polite to everyone, but he could tell her antiquated dress was definitely drawing some notice. 

“I’ll take you out somewhere to get some clothes that will help you blend it a little better.”

“Is what I’m wearing a problem?” she asked.

“It’s not a problem for me, I think you look fantastic. But it is pretty different from what people wear now. It’s not something I’ve ever thought about much but I guess that styles have changed a lot from more than seventy years ago. I’d say though, that in some of the bigger cities, you could wear that dress, and probably people would think you were just someone who enjoyed wearing retro clothes.”

“I see, so it is because this is a small town, anything different catches the attention,” Delphine said. “It was just like that when I was on an undercover mission in the German countryside, I had to take care to dress down from normal city clothing.”

Dinner was nicely prepared trout and fresh vegetables, nothing fancy, but it was well-executed and Dean was happy to discover that Delphine enjoyed beer as much as he did.

“I thought for sure you’d be a wine drinker, isn’t that a French thing?”

“I enjoy wine also of course, but I came to enjoy beer during my time studying with the Men of Letters chapter in Paris. One of the older gentlemen there had a small brewing operation going in the basement. He claimed that the beer would prolong our lives due to the ingredients, but no one believed him. But look at me now? I would say I am doing quite well for a hundred and one year old.”

Dean sprayed the small amount of beer out of his mouth that he’d almost swallowed in surprise. “Oh! I’m so sorry! Let me,” Dean scrambled to wipe the spray of beer off her shoulder and the upper breast of her dress. 

Delphine leaned towards him so he could get to it better and laughed. “I surprised you, I am sorry. I was just doing some figures in my head to see how old I was now.”

Dean’s hand paused it’s dabbing at the silk and rested just below her shoulder. His fingers brushed her collarbone gently as if he was searching for more beer spray, but she could tell he was just taking the opportunity to touch her skin.

“Dean, I heard you and Sam speaking about me today, and I need to inquire. What does it mean for you to ‘try for something with me?’”

Dean dropped his hand  to his lap and studied it for a moment, then he looked up at her, hesitant and shy. “I’m so sorry you heard us talking like that. It’s…it means to try to have a romantic relationship with you. We were arguing about it like idiots, I apologize, it was really rude of us.”

“I appreciate your honesty, truly. And as I am a woman out of time, I can see the point of what you say. I would not be opposed to it, you are a very attractive man, Dean, as is Sam,” Delphine said leaning in closer and taking one of Dean’s hands in hers. She stroked it gently with her fingertips and looked into Dean’s eyes. “You do not really want this though, do you? You are only doing this because Sam insisted that you try.”

Dean dropped his head, the guilt at being figured out overwhelming. “You’ve only known me for a couple days and you already have me figured out. But, I’m not only doing this because of what Sam said. I think we could try for something, see how it works out between us. No pressure. It’s a weird time for both of us.”

Delphine laughed at that then, probably because it was weird to be sitting here in the middle of the United States seventy-three years in the future with this conflicted man who already loved another, with what he knew was his whole heart. Dean felt sorry for her then, that she was alone, and that even if she did want something with either of them, it wouldn’t ever be what he had with Sam.

“I should warn you, my past relationships have all been short-term, sometimes work-related even,” Delphine said.

“Just about all of mine have been extremely short-term, except for Sam of course.”

“Of course, Sam. It does come back to him, but he is not here with me is he? You are,” Delphine said with a mischievous grin that promised all sorts of trouble.

“That I am. Hey, I think we should get out of here, you up to driving back?”

“Absolutely, I am. Shall we?” Delphine said, standing up and holding out her hand. Dean took it, enfolding her small hand in his. It had been a while since he’d held a woman’s hand. He was used to Sam’s large paws, and they didn’t do much hand-holding, especially out in public.

Delphine started up the enormous car with a solid _vroom_ and sped out of the parking lot just as Dean closed the door. He was thrown up against her side and just stayed there for a long moment while she giggled with the rush of adrenaline. 

She turned to look at him and saw the conflicting need and indecision that was in his eyes and pulled off the road at the next opportunity, shutting the engine off and setting the brake. 

“Dean, I want to…” Delphine said, losing track of her words as Dean moved closer. 

He took her head in his hands and tilted it just slightly, brushing their lips together. It was warm and then slick. Her tongue was first to venture forth and he responded immediately, almost overpowering her with movement and heat. His hands in her hair were wonderful, pulling and stroking her in time with the movements of his lips and tongue. His hands moved down her neck and then her back pulling her even closer. She let herself take this from him, even if he was not quite ready to give it. It seemed like he needed at least to try. Once his hands lingered near her breasts she stilled him with a touch. 

“That should be enough of a try-for-something for now, yes?” Delphine asked, regretting that she couldn’t pursue her desires to the obvious conclusion. There would be time for that, though, she was sure of it.

He nodded and slid back across the seat to his side of the car. She put it back into gear and headed back towards her strange new home.

Dean left her at her door with a kiss on both cheeks and a short hug. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy her, but it seemed to almost overwhelm him judging by his body language as he walked away down the hall. She watched him stop at Sam’s door, knock quietly and say something she couldn’t quite hear. His shoulders sagged and he continued onto his own room.

She tossed and turned that night, debating about whether it was right to be getting in-between these men. She had figured out quite a lot about them as Dean had noticed, but she didn’t know everything. And she didn’t know enough about their history together to judge. She finally gave up on sleep and examined the contents of the bookshelf in her room. It was filled with small colorful books, some that seemed to be mostly cartoon pictures of people fighting outlandish monsters and each other. But then there were some that had two beautiful men on the front cover. The first one in the series looked like it would be short enough that it might help her pass some time or perhaps fall asleep.  After devouring a second book she felt she knew the brothers much better now. And she had been right, they were brothers. It was all right there plainly in the books, the ones that were about their lives. Not raised as Men of Letters, just as Sam had said, but instead as hunters. 

  
Delphine was still in bed, curled up with a third book when there was a knock at the door. She straightened herself up a bit and said, “Come in.”

Sam opened the door slowly and stuck his head into her room. “Delphine, you doing okay this morning? We didn’t see you for breakfast.”

“I did not have a good night of sleep, so I began reading some of the books that I presume were left here by your friend. They were quite entertaining,” Delphine said with a smile that gave away her amusement at Sam’s reaction when she held up the book cover so he could see what she’d been reading.

Sam blanched and then his cheeks turned a cherry red. “Oh god, I thought we threw those things out. It’s so embarrassing, you have no idea.”

“I am finding them very informative, and I believe I am more caught up on your modern world of hunting than I was earlier. But I must ask, are these books indeed inspired by your lives?”

“Uh..it’s a long story. And I know we say that a lot around here, but it is. There was a prophet named Chuck.”

“A prophet, akin to a biblical prophet?” Delphine interrupted.

“Yes, exactly. Apparently the way it works is that there is one on Earth at a time. As soon as one dies, the next on the list is brought up. And there is an actual list that all the angels somehow know. Weird right?”

“So what does this modern-day prophet have to do with the books in question?”

“He wrote them. He said he was compelled to write them, he couldn’t not. Our angel friend, Cas explained it as they would end up becoming ‘The Winchester Gospels’ which I personally think is ridiculous.”

“I would not be at all surprised, Sam. I have only skimmed the last ones, but the things that you have done, both of you, for the world? It is tremendous and inspiring and the way you love each other, it is like nothing I have ever heard of,” Delphine said, breathless in her inspiration.

Sam stood there frozen, as he no doubt realized what she now knew. “Uh…I don’t know what to say, besides thank you.”

“Now this friction between the two of you because of me makes a bit more sense. In your whole lives, no one and nothing has ever come between you, not for very long at least. You have always chosen each other, and I would imagine you will continue to do the same.”

“So you’re wondering why would we want to try for something with you?” Sam asked.

“It seems to make things rather complicated,” Delphine said.

“True, there isn’t a lot that’s worth that complication, but you seem like you are. It’s as simple as that,” Sam said. “So, if you would be interested, I would like to take you out tonight as my brother did last night.” Sam blushed, likely at asking so boldly and for using the word ‘brother’ as if it was assumed and discussed between them.

“Your brother took me to a restaurant where we ate very nice fish. Will we be going to the same place?”

“No, there’s somewhere else I think you’ll enjoy. It’s a bit of drive since as you have realized by now that we are truly in the middle of nowhere.”

“When do we leave, and what shall I wear?”

“Can you be ready in an hour? Dean said you found a dress, that’s probably fine.”

“He spilled beer on it,” Delphine said.

“Of course he did,” Sam said with a laugh, “do you need help finding something else?”

“There were more clothes in this closet, but I hesitated to wear them as they may have belonged to your friend.”

“Let me look. I think I remember giving Charlie all of the vintage women’s clothing that was here,” Sam said, opening the closet, from deep in the back he pulled out several garment bags that had Men of Letters logos stamped on them. “Here, these are some choices. If nothing works for you, just wear whatever’s comfortable, it’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.”

Sam blushed again at that and ducked out the door. 

Sam drove them to Kansas City, in the Impala. During the long drive, he told her about the car and how it had been their home for their whole life. It was just like she had just read in the book. He pulled up past a marquee for a movie theater, which read: _NOW SHOWING Classic French Cinema_

“I thought you might like to see a movie. This is a place I go sometimes when Dean is driving me nuts.”

“Is it really French cinema?” Delphine asked.

“Yes, you’ll have to ignore the subtitles which are for those of us too slow on French to make out all the dialogue.”

Sam bought them tickets and popcorn, and led Delphine to a good seat in the middle with a hand at the small of her back. He seemed to watch her more than the movie, but she tried to enjoy the experience of hearing her native language. Their hands brushed together on the armrest between them until Sam laid his arm across her shoulders. She felt safe, cuddled up against the side of his chest as they watched the rest of the film that made her miss her homeland and time more than anything.

After the movies they walked to a nearby cafe that had live jazz playing. She noticed that less of the city people seemed to be side-eyeing her attire and she felt more comfortable. A dinner of something called deep-dish pizza was a revelation to her tastebuds. She was surprised to find that she felt so happy as they walked along the nearly empty streets back to the Impala. It had been a long few days, but between the two brothers, they’d made her feel safe and comfortable, and so many other things.

After Sam unlocked her door and opened it, she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around Sam and pulling him close. She kissed him just about exactly as much as she had kissed Dean. And it was so different, Sam was all power and energy and enthusiasm. It was like kissing an amorous whirlwind, she felt turned inside out once she pushed herself away. Sam looked dazed and worried at the same time, but not guilty, so that was something. 

He had her back pressed against the Impala and it was hard to miss the impatient movements of his hips against her. She sighed, realizing that she had to stop things here, otherwise it would confuse them all more than she was willing to risk. With one hand on his chest she pushed him away, just slightly. His mouth was kiss-swollen, lips so pink and luscious she hated having to stop him. “Sam, I believe that was as far as we should take things tonight.”

He groaned, but smiled down at her quickly. “I get it, that’s fine. We should get back.” He helped her into the car, closed her door and walked around slowly. She could see that he was trying to adjust himself physically and mentally for the long ride home. They kept the conversation going though and it was the most fun she’d had in a very long time. Sam Winchester’s agile mind was full of all kinds of bits of lore and knowledge, real lived experience that no Man of Letters she’d ever met had any chance at knowing.

When they finally returned to the Bunker much later that night, Sam kissed Delphine on the cheek at her door and held her tightly for a long moment. Then he headed to the library room to work on some research and maybe to have a drink. Instead he found Dean, slouched in one of the library chairs, a highball glass knocked over and empty on the table nearest to him. He was snoring lightly and his head was at a terrible angle. Sam couldn’t leave him like that, even if they were trying to avoid each other while they got this Delphine thing worked out. He touched Dean on the shoulder to wake him up.

“S’mmy, you’re back already?”

“Dude, it’s like one in the morning, and you’re sleeping in a chair all crunched up. C’mon, you should head to bed, okay?”

Dean stood up unsteadily and then fell forward into Sam. Sam had to catch him or let him fall, so he caught him, and when their bodies collided the inevitable sparks flared up between them. 

_Which of us is the flint,_ Sam briefly wondered as his mouth found its way to Dean’s, once they were attached at the lips, the rest of their bodies aligned according to the usual arrangement. It had been a while for both of them, so they were hard in an instant, both groaning as they ground against each other. Sam didn’t just want to come in his jeans like a teenager here in the middle of the library, so he led Dean off to Dean’s room which was farthest away from Delphine’s, hopefully she wouldn’t hear them. Because it was likely to get loud, Dean had always been the loudest when he was drunk.

Dean pushed him up against the door, closing and locking it. He kissed Sam like he was hunting for something that had been lost. Finally Sam realized he was tasting Delphine on his lips.

“I taste her on you, Sammy,” Dean said.

“I want you to taste me, Dean, not her,” Sam answered.

Dean groaned at that idea and sunk to his knees. Sam had his jeans undone and around his hips by the time Dean was ready to swallow him down nearly to the root. Sam felt himself harden the rest of the way, extending towards the back of Dean’s throat, bumping into the soft tissue. He thrusted down into Dean who was taking him all the way in, sucking for all he was worth. Sam felt his balls beginning to draw up, but it was too soon for that. He pushed Dean gently off and grasped the base of his own cock firmly.

“No, want to come while you’re riding me, Dean.”

“So get on the damn bed then, already,” Dean said with a grin, standing back up in a graceful rush for someone who was so drunk, ripping off his clothes and pouncing on Sam who had barely enough time to undress himself and lay down on the bed.

Dean had already grabbed the lube and had a couple fingers headed back behind himself when Sam grabbed at his wrist. 

“No, I want to,” Sam said, swiping the lube off of Dean’s fingers and pressing his own up into Dean. He felt Dean contracting and releasing, then opening up to his teasing. Dean wiped his messy hand on Sam’s cock, pulling in a rhythm that matched the movement of Sam’s fingers. Finally, Dean felt open enough so Sam lifted him closer into position over his lap.

Dean got his knees into the right places on either side of Sam’s slim hips, steadied Sam’s cock behind him and sunk down slowly, so slowly. One small thrust of Sam’s hips brought him past Dean’s rim. Dean gasped with the sharp pleasure and let himself down the rest of the way in a rush. 

Sam stifled a yell at the feeling of tightness enveloping him so suddenly. He caught sight of Dean’s grin, he was much too pleased with himself so Sam thrusted up in a harsh jackhammer pattern that made Dean whoop with trying to stay on top of him. He laughed and grabbed for Sam’s hands on his own hips, holding bruise-tight and squeezing his thighs together to feel the power of his brother thrusting into him even more. He leaned forward onto Sam’s chest, both hands finding already hard nipples that he teased and pulled until Sam was writhing instead of thrusting. Sam knocked his hands away and flipped them both over. 

Getting flipped like that, the air was knocked out of Dean and he didn’t care one bit, this was how he liked his Sam. It was always something to be taken by him like this. It wasn’t every time, but when it was, oh god, it was almost too much pleasure at once for one person to handle. There was a steady chanting noise in the room that Dean realized was him, he was making that stream of noise himself as Sam pounded into him at a furious pace. He wrapped his legs around Sam’s hips the best he could and held on to Sam’s powerful shoulders. 

The feeling of all those muscles working and contracting all for him, for their pleasure, it was too much, it was too good, and it was all he ever wanted to feel, he didn’t ever want anything other than this pleasure, this pain, this connection, this joy and release all shared with the person he loved more than anything in this whole damn world. And Sam was laughing with that beautiful joyful sound so that meant that he had probably just spewed all that out loud which was just fine with him. Because Sam should know all of that by now, he was everything to him, Sam was his whole damn world. 

Sam wasn’t laughing anymore, he had slowed down and was cradling Dean like he was an expensive piece of china. “Damnnit, Sam, I was almost there.”

“You…what you said. I had to stop. Had to tell you, it’s the same for me, Dean, absolutely. You are everything to me too. I don’t care what happens with Delphine as long as we can always have this together. You and me, that’s the only thing I really care about.” Sam began thrusting again, much more gently now.

“Really, Sammy?” Dean asked, like he’d never heard anything like this coming from Sam which was completely infuriating. 

“Yeah, really, Dean, that’s what I want. How about you? That’s what you were saying just a few moments ago, right?”

“I was, I meant it, all of it, every word, just, c’mon, please,” Dean begged. And he hated that he begged, but he knew that Sam loved getting him there to this place where it was the only thing he could do. “Sammy, get me the rest of the way there, please.”

Sam grinned and leaned down to take Dean’s mouth as roughly as the sex had been before. Dean gasped into the kiss, fighting back against his brother’s power the best he could. But Sam was stronger and it was good that way, it was better being laid out like this sometimes. Sam nipped at his lips then down his throat and Dean squirmed and writhed on Sam’s cock, impaled and frictionless until Sam took pity on him, starting up the jackhammer that would get them there together. 

It had been so long since Sam had done this, Dean had forgotten how good it was, how everything went black and then blue in his vision, even when his eyes were open, the sweat dripped off of Sam into his open mouth and he swallowed it down, that salty essence that was all Sam, at the basest, at the rawest, and oh god he could feel it, Sam all the way inside him, as deep as possible, the root of Sam hitting just past his rim, that perfect stopping point that flared all his nerve endings into this ball of delight and pleasure that rolled up his spine and it was coming out the top of his head, blowing everything black and then white. 

Somewhere in there he heard the sounds of Sam coming and then taking care of him. He felt himself be cleaned off, the cold washcloth momentarily pulling him out of his pleasure haze. He mumbled as Sam rolled him under the covers and made sure he had the right pillows under his head that wouldn’t give him a neck ache in the morning. 

“You take such damn good care of me, S’mmy. I’m s’posed to take care a’ you,” Dean slurred into the pillow.

He felt Sam’s hand land in his hair, scratching through gently to help him fall asleep. “No, it’s not always like that now, Dean. We take turns doing that, remember? Sleep now. We’ll talk about all the Delphine stuff tomorrow.”

“She’s a good kisser, huh S’mmy?”

“Yeah she is, you were right. Night, Dean, sleep now,” Sam said, patting his shoulder as he rose to leave.

“No, you stay, c’mon, S’mmy, please?”

Sam sighed, switched off the light, got back into their bed and Dean knew no more than depthless dreams of Amara calling to him, pulling him through all sorts of landscapes and weathers, deserts and forests, snow and rain and then she was there, always right there smack at the center of it all. But Sam was there too, _because he’s the one in the center, not you!_ He felt himself tense up in his sleep, yelling at God’s sister because it was just a dream. She wouldn’t let him do that in real life. She’d eat him up whole like she’d threatened, and then what would happen to Sam? He can’t, he can’t go in there, into her, be absorbed, be taken over. He kicked and struggled and punched until a bright light blared into his eyes and he felt familiar strong hands on his shoulders shaking him.

“Dean! Wake up, c’mon, you have to wake up, she can’t have you like this!” Sam shouted. He sounded panicked, that made Dean come back to himself even more. He struggled to pull and tug and separate himself from her; it ached and every piece he tore away from her sticky darkness pulsed and burned. But he had to, had to come back to Sam. Sam was calling him, he needed him. Sam had to be the one at the center. _Not you. Not you. I don’t want you, I only want Sam. I’m his, I’m not yours. Never yours._

Dean felt an angry push in the center of his chest force him backwards through the layers of landscapes and weather in reverse with dizzying speed as he fell back down into his body, wrecked and awake now with Sam flipping out on top of him. “I’m okay, Sammy. I’m back.”

“Where’d you go, Dean? What the hell was that?” Sam demanded in a panic.

“It was Amara, she got to me in my dream or something. She pulled me to her through deserts and forests, there was snow and rain and she was mad, so mad that I wanted you at the center of me, not her. And so she was going to just absorb me, like she threatened to before. She started to do it, and that’s when I heard you. It hurt, fuck it really hurt, Sam, to pull away from her. I had to tear myself apart to get away, to get back to you. Then she hurled me away from her back here into my body.”

“I thought we were safe here, what’s different?” Sam asked.

“Don’t know. Maybe the time-travel, or the Hand of God thing?” Dean suggested.

Sam didn’t say anything else then, just held Dean close and rearranged the covers over them both. Dean was glad for the silence so he could hear his brother’s heartbeat, slowing down back to normal as Sam’s hands stroked him gently, grounding him back into his body. He fell into dreamless sleep then, safe and secure in his brother’s arms.

Sam and Dean were both more than attracted to Delphine. They danced around the issue with each other for a few more very long days which drove Delphine nearly mad. She yelled at them both to leave her alone until they’d figured themselves out. It was too frustrating to be so close to having one of them, but having nothing, being so lonely, out of her time, confused about the world and not understanding this hunt for the Darkness.

She locked herself away in her room, studying the Winchester Gospels she had found online for clues about how to manage to survive these brothers and help them with the Darkness. Delphine had taken to computer research with amazing speed, and she was glad Sam had spent the time with her. The tablet she used almost all the time had been Charlie’s, and she could tell it both bothered the Winchesters and made them happy that she was using it. There were a few more entries to the ebook series of the Gospels left to read; maybe there would be some clues in the ones that detailed the time Dean had spent as a demon.

All the research and reading in the world wouldn’t take away the pain of missing her time, her friends in the Men of Letters that she’d known and trusted. This strange life in the future, stuck here in this underground bunker was so unreal and hard. But there was this possibility that she could feel was just out of reach, that at some point she could be happier here than she'd ever have been back in her time.


	5. Part 4 of 7

After ten minutes of searching, Sam finally found Dean in the garage, which should have been the first place he looked. Dean was on the crawler under the jacked-up Impala. He didn't roll out at first when Sam started trying to have a conversation, but he finally gave in. 

“Listen, we both said to try for something with her, right? I agreed, you agreed, we both did it, so what’s the big deal?” Dean asked, studiously concentrating on wiping his hands clean on a rag instead of meeting Sam’s eyes.

Sam hesitated then, knowing that what he was about to say was a huge risk. But their lives had been screwed up so many times by not being honest or unclear about their priorities, or holding back on sharing their true feelings. He looked at his brother’s confusion, and decided for both of them that now was the time, it was now or never. “Dean, I don’t really know how to say something like this to you. I don’t even know if you can hear something like this.”

“Now you’re really worrying me, Sammy,” Dean said, wrapping his arms around himself in a loose self-hug that was also a shield.

“No, it’s not like that, Dean,” Sam said, reaching out to take one of Dean’s hands in his. He held it for a long moment, took a deep breath and looked straight across at Dean. “Okay, here goes everything, I guess. I’m afraid of upsetting the balance we've finally achieved between us after so many years of trying. I’m worried that anything either of us does with Delphine will end up breaking us for good, just when we’re finally really back together.” 

Dean’s eyes went shiny with tears he wasn’t going to let fall, but he let Sam see them anyway. He blinked them away slowly, letting Sam come back into focus, at the center of it all, right in the center where he was supposed to be. “I’m so glad you said it and not me. But then I’m chicken-shit about stuff like this and you aren’t, you never have been. But it’s like you read my mind, Sammy. I’ve been thinking about all that too.”

“This might be our only chance for something like this, so who gets to pursue it? Can we just decide something like that?” Sam asked.

“I can’t if it means I lose you. I won’t do it,” Dean declared.

“Same here,” Sam agreed.

“So she has to be okay with us still being together, but dating whichever of us she chooses?” Dean asked.

“Think that’s fair to her or something she’d even understand?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, I do, actually. C’mon she could have left weeks ago, but she's still here and she's beautiful and sassy and she gets us.”

“You’re right, she's as badass as any hunter and as smart as all the Men of Letters put together.”

“Let’s just call it People of Letters, Sammy, c'mon fair's fair right? Yeah, she’s pretty much perfect for either of us.”

“I think you’ve always needed a woman more than I have.”

“Because why exactly?” Dean asked.

“Look at how many more you’ve had over the years, even after we got together,” Sam said.

“But they didn’t mean anything, you know that. And I can tell that she will. I mean, she already does, if I’m honest.”

“I agree, but I really want you to have a chance to be happy, to have both if you can,” Sam said.

“Well, I want that for you too. I mean, you’re the one who always wanted normal, Sammy. And this is a whole lot closer to normal than just sticking with you and me.”

They put it to her that night after the dinner dishes were done. Sam asked her to join them for brandy in the library. Dean was nervously pacing, Sam was sitting, swirling his brandy in a snifter. 

“What’s up gentlemen?”

“There’s something we need to ask you to decide. If you want to try for something with one of us, can you just go ahead and choose? Because we keep going around and around, and we haven’t been able to decide. We thought you might be able to cast the deciding vote.”

“You expect me to choose one of you and what? We go off and live happily ever after? That’s not going to happen and you know it.”

“No, you’re right, we should have clarified. Dean and I, we’re a forever kind of thing, that doesn’t change. He and I don’t do well if we’re separated for too long. It’s embarrassing, but it is what it is. What we’re asking is, if you would like to have a relationship with one of us in addition to the two of us still being together,” Sam said.

“What, being a woman on the side for one of you?” Delphine demanded.

“Yeah, I guess. But not all sneaky and everything, it would be just part time, that’s true. And whichever of us it is, it’ll take some getting used to. But we both are…well we’re both so set on having you in our lives somehow,” Dean said.

“I cannot decide until we go to bed. You cannot possibly expect me to decide something as important as this based on just a few kisses.” She drained her brandy glass and set it down on the table in front of Sam. “So come on then.” Sam stood up and looked nervously over at Dean. Dean nodded at him and tried to smile.

Delphine stomped her foot and glared at them both. “Mon Dieu dans le ciel!  You two are the most frustrating men in the world. Both of you, bed, now.”

Dean and Sam looked at each other and their eyes widened almost comically. Had they really not considered this as an option? 

Delphine began laughing at both of them, holding her sides as she cackled. “You never thought of this as an option did you? Have you never heard the French term: ménages à trois?” She wiped her eyes dry and faced both of them with crossed arms. “It means a household of three, which is essentially what we have become, except for the sexual question which is where you are hung up. Of course, so American you are.”

“Hey!” Dean said, “I’ve had plenty of threesomes, Sam and I have even done that a few times together.” 

“Could this work though?” Sam asked. “Now that I’m thinking about it, there’s a real possibility there.”

“We need to have this discussion afterwards. If we aren’t sexually compatible then there’s no point in wasting the breath. I am serious here gentlemen, the offer is about to expire, now or never.”

“Let’s go for it, Sammy, why not?”

Sam’s answer was to grab both of them and steer them towards Dean’s room. “We’re using your bed, Dean, it’s the biggest.”

“That’s what they all say,” Delphine teased. 

Sam looked at Dean over her head as they walked down the hall and they both laughed, because this woman was taking them to bed, giving them a gift that wasn’t necessarily deserved. But damn if they weren’t going to take her up on it.

Dean opened the door to his room and scanned to make sure there wasn’t anything too embarrassing lying around. At least he knew his sheets were clean, he’d changed them after the other wild night with Sam. But besides that night, they hadn’t had much sex in here lately. While all of this had been hanging between them, it hadn’t seemed possible. And god he wanted Sam so badly right then, relying on him to get them to the point where they could even talk about this stuff was maybe not the smart choice. But hey, they were all here in the same room about to get naked, that had to be a good sign, right?

“How are you picturing this working, Delphine?” Sam asked, rubbing his hands on his arms like he was cold. 

Dean crossed to him and held his hands to steady him, that arm rubbing gesture usually meant Sam was way past just nervous. 

“I am not in charge here, Sam. We are all of us, in this together, right?” Delphine said.

“I feel like I’m at a tryout for a play or something,” Sam complained.

“Just go with what feels good, you’ll figure it out like you always do, Sammy,” Dean said, pulling him down for a hug. He kissed Sam deeply, until he heard that gorgeous moan that meant Sam’s engines were started and raring to go. When he pulled back from the kiss he met Delphine’s eyes which were wide and luminous in the dim light. He reached out to her and drew her into his side, holding her close. “You like seeing that, huh?”

Delphine nodded and reached out for both of their belt buckles, tugging on them sharply. She then began to undo her own trousers, removing them and her shoes quickly. Dean and Sam watched her as they removed their own. She reached out again and felt both of them, hard and tenting their boxers and gripped them tightly, moving her hands up and down slowly. Both of them groaned and leaned in closer to her, bracing their arms around each other. She let go of them abruptly and stepped back to remove her blouse. They were entranced by the appearance of all that beautiful skin, so soft and glowing. She tugged at their shirts wordlessly expressing they needed to be removed. The pile of clothes was growing until they were all there in a group hug, all exposed, naked to each other, all that skin sliding and rubbing, so many hands everywhere. 

At the last moment, Dean remembered they needed condoms. He groaned as he stepped away from them to rustle around in his bedside drawer. Way in the back he found an old strip of them and waved them in triumph. Delphine and Sam didn’t notice, they were so absorbed in kissing and touching that they had no idea he’d saved them from having to interrupt things at an even more crucial time. He set them on the table next to the lube that was already there and walked back over. He got a hand on each of their waists and pulled them towards the bed. 

Sam fell back onto the bed next to him and Delphine landed on top of both of them. She squirmed with delight and unbridled passion as they both proceeded to suckle at her breasts. Sam’s hand reached between her legs, finding her already entirely wet. He swiped a finger through her folds, gathering up some of her sweet juices to taste.

“Dean, she’s soaked already, you’ve got to taste,” Sam said, holding his finger out for Dean to lick.

Dean licked and then sucked the whole finger into his mouth. Delphine moaned at the sight of those lips working on his brother.

“Course she is, Sammy, she was watching us make out.”

Delphine leaned forward then to stop Dean from talking and kissed the breath out of him. 

“I don’t know, Dean, that was pretty damn hot to watch,” Sam said, his eyes gone dark with desire.

Delphine grinned and switched over to kissing the breath out of Sam.

“I see what you mean, that is damn hot up close like this, shit, you two are hot together,” Dean said, reaching over Delphine to stroke Sam’s back.

Sam arched his back at Dean’s touch, his hips moving between Delphine’s legs. Sam had himself propped up over her with one arm, the other moved into position so that he could finger Delphine, teasing her clit and pressing inside her. One of Dean’s hands moved down Sam’s body, pressing between his ass-cheeks, fingers teasing at his hole. Sam was thrusting harder now, Delphine’s hand wrapped around him.

Dean whispered into Delphine’s ear, “You liked watching us so much, want to see me fuck him?” 

Sam whined when he heard Dean’s words, he spread his legs wide so Dean could have more room as he arranged himself between them. Sam nearly lost it when Dean’s hot breath and wet mouth teased over his hole. He stopped thrusting into Delphine and pushed himself back into Dean’s face. Dean licked and sucked until Sam was making the incoherent little gasps and whines that meant he was ready. Dean grabbed the lube and condoms off the table. He handed one to Delphine to put on Sam and went to work on opening Sam up with the lube.

Delphine’s grip on Sam never wavered, she held on tightly giving Sam somewhere to thrust into. She had to let go to roll the condom on him though, but once it was on, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into her. He went deep inside, slick and smooth and huge, she could barely breathe with how full she felt. Sam’s thrusts were steady until they stuttered, then became even harder, because now Dean was inside him, the power of the two men combining to fill up her senses. There weren’t many words between them, their mouths occupied by kissing lips, skin, fingers, anything they could reach. There was just so much of all of it.

Delphine’s hands never stopped moving, holding onto Sam and Dean as they moved through her. She lost track of who was inside who, they seemed to sync up and all three move together as one, finding pleasure in the smallest of movements. Then she was being rolled between them, Sam on his back, still thrusting up into her and Dean behind, his slick fingers opening up her ass, stretching and filling her. She heard another crinkling package and then felt Dean pressing into her and there was no room left inside her for anything but this, only heat and slick pressure and Sam’s rhythm. She was filled completely full and she never wanted it to end. 

Over her shoulder she felt them kissing each other, could hear their lips smacking, then felt Sam’s lips against her neck, and Dean took her mouth over. They moved together, a piston rhythm that seemed unstoppable. She tightened her legs around Sam’s hips and tilted her ass up just a little and that was it, the spot where she needed them to always take her. She fell over and into that endless shuddering prelude to a shattering orgasm. Delphine came back to herself in time to hear both of their cries as they came. 

Dean collapsed a little forward onto them and Delphine felt the safest and happiest she had felt in her life. These men, she would give anything for them. “I would give you anything, anything at all,” she whispered.

Dean nuzzled into the hair at the base of her neck and bit her gently on the nape. “You just did, sweetheart, you just did.”

Below them both Sam wriggled a little, making them all sigh at the movement. “I don’t ever want to move, can we just stay like this forever?” Sam asked.

Delphine kissed him instead of answering, moving aside a little so Dean could lean in and kiss him also. Dean slowly pulled out of her and the loss of him inside her made her want to cry. Would it ever be that good again? How could anything ever top this? Sam held her close and wouldn’t let her move, she lay between both of them sated and heavy. Dean finally rolled off the bed and stepped away to the small sink, he came back with a washcloth that he cleaned her up with. And it felt good, warm and gentle and a little rough texture running over nerve endings still alight with pleasure. She shivered a little and tightened herself around Sam, still half-hard inside her.

“Sammy, you gotta pull out or roll over so I can clean you up.”

Sam rolled them both over, still managing to stay inside of her. She could feel Sam’s reaction to being washed by Dean and it made her tingle all over. Something about the tender care taking contrasting with the raw power of these men, it was too good. She tightened and held Sam inside her, massaging him with her inner walls until she felt him hardening. Delphine began working her hips up and down and Sam giggled. “Dean, she’s got me going again.”

“Fuck, that’s hot,” Dean said, laying back on the bed beside them. He had one hand on Delphine’s breast, rolling a brown nipple between his fingers and the other stroking himself.

“Get up here, Dean, let me taste you,” Delphine said, reaching for Dean to guide him into her mouth.

Dean groaned as she suckled him back to full hardness. He was right on the edge of too sensitive but he wanted to please her. And it was easy to get it up again so soon, watching Sam move inside her, his beautiful brother’s body, so damn graceful, yet so powerful, pumping into Delphine, her elegant legs wrapped tightly around Sam’s hips, and her nimble mouth taking his own cock too. It was so good, so deep inside her, both of them.

Dean worked a hand between their bodies reaching towards where his brother entered her, found Delphine’s clit, rubbing it gently until she began panting and urging Sam faster. She sucked Dean in deeper, one hand massaging at his balls, stroking the tender skin behind them. She came first, like an earthquake suddenly letting loose, he could feel it as she pulled him in even further down her throat, as well as seeing Sam’s hips bucking wildly as he came again. Dean couldn’t hold back, emptying into her, filling her up just as Sam had. He held his fingers up to Sam’s mouth. “Taste this, Sammy, she came all over my hand.”

Sam licked and suckled his fingers and Dean remembered he needed to take his cock out of Delphine’s mouth, she moaned as he withdrew, kissing the tip as it passed her lips. Sam pulled out of her, flopping onto his back and trying to get the very full condom off. Dean leant a hand, teasing at Sam as he rolled the condom off, leaning down to lick him clean. 

Delphine covered her face with her hands and Dean could see she was shaking a little. He laid down on the other side of her and gathered her into his arms, Sam rolled over and wrapped himself around both of them. 

“You okay?” Dean asked her, nuzzling into the top of her head.

Delphine nodded and let her hands down, Dean kissed the tears that glittered on her cheeks. “I am sorry, I have never had anything like this before. It is like my body does not know what to do with all this pleasure and feeling.”

Sam raised his head up so that he could look at Dean, “Did we pass your test then?”

Delphine laughed then, musical and joyous, held safely between them. “I do believe so, yes.”

Dean’s eyes were getting that heavy-lidded post-sex look that Sam had always adored. Dean sated and secure, maybe even happy for once. Sam smiled just to see it, his heart taking it in and locking the image down as another favorite. He leaned up and whispered into Delphine’s ear, “Vous êtes notre femme maintenant.”

She turned back towards him and leaned up to kiss him deeply, “Oui, et vous êtes mes hommes.”

“Hey, translation please?” Dean asked with mock-impatience.

Sam and Delphine turned back to Dean and gathered him into their embrace, tangling all the limbs together that they could. “I told her that she was our woman now,” Sam said.

“And I answered him that yes, and you are my men,” Delphine added.

“I really like the sound of that, in either language,” Dean said with a smile Sam hadn’t seen since the last time he’d given Dean a surprise present. And this kind of was a surprise present in a way, nothing they’d ever have expected or desired, but here she was, wrapped up between them.

Months of bliss passed once they’d crossed the Rubicon together. It seemed a monumental undertaking at times, negotiating the three personalities in all their combinations, especially given the long-term relationship the brothers had. They took turns pushing each other past boundaries, testing gently how far things could go. 

The brothers were competitive at times; of course they were, they were still brothers first, and that complicated things even further than a normal threesome. Feelings got hurt, there was stomping and door slamming, and Delphine had to get used to how the brothers fought and made up. That was not something they could adjust at this point. But the addition of this anachronistic woman did something to both of them, Dean became softer, communicated more and better; Sam practiced setting his boundaries and keeping to them instead of always being in forgiveness mode. 

For her part, Delphine had never been happier. As she had told Dean, none of her relationships had been very long-term, and they had not ever come close to being this satisfying. She had always had an unusual relationship to sex for a woman of her time. She had found being open and adventurous had its advantages, but it wasn’t well thought of back in her time. And here, it was a true advantage with Sam and Dean, her drive for pleasure and satisfaction powered them all through many of the points where they would have given up trying to rebalance things between them. She had learned very quickly to accept her place in the pecking order of love between them all; she knew from the start that they were soul mates and was grateful for the generous amounts of love that they showered on her. She’d never expected to find anyone to love, and she felt beyond blessed to have found two.

As far as the sex went, they spent several weeks trying all of the various configurations that were possible between two men and a woman. All of them had their favorites and they tried to rotate responsibility for making sure everyone was getting something they enjoyed so that it wasn’t always the same person directing things. Delphine preferred having both of the brothers inside of her at the same time. It had always been one of her greatest fantasies and now that she’d had it, she tended to demand it fairly frequently. Luckily Sam and Dean didn’t have a problem with that; they’d learned long ago in several encounters with adventurous women that sharing a woman together could be mind-blowing if done well. She didn’t particularly enjoy sleeping between them afterwards, however. It was too hot and confining being between two walls of men all night long, so she normally ended up being spooned by one of them.

Dean discovered that he couldn’t get enough of watching Sam go down on Delphine. It got him harder than anything, especially if he was inside of Sam at the time. That was his favorite combination that they’d attempted. And he finally admitted that he did enjoy the afterglow and cuddling that came after any session they all shared. Having his bed full of people he loved and that loved him was almost enough to help him forget the pull he constantly felt to leave the bunker and find Amara. 

Sam was surprised to find that he was the most jealous out of the three of them, and so he had trouble watching Dean entering Delphine, he had to be completely occupied, usually that meant he was inside Dean and directing the action. The favorite thing for him though was being ridden by Dean while Delphine rode his own face. He told them both that he felt so complete and at peace then, better than he’d felt in many years. He always had to fall asleep with a hand on each of them. 

“Sam, can I ask you something while Dean is not here?” Delphine asked, standing at the edge of the library table.

Sam put down the sheaf of onion-skin parchment, marking his place with a take-out napkin from their favorite deli in town. “Of course, what’s up Del?”

She smiled at the nickname, Sam had explained that Dean was in the habit of giving out nicknames and making them stick, and Del seemed to be sticking. She liked it though, it made her feel more a part of them. “I am wanting to suggest something to help Dean with his nightmares of the Darkness.”

“Oh no, are they bothering you? You hadn’t said anything, so I was hoping you’d managed to sleep through them.”

“They seem to be getting worse, no?” Delphine asked for confirmation.

Sam nodded but didn’t say anything, his frustration at being unable to help his brother didn’t need to be expressed.

“I have an idea that may help. I was reading this book,” she handed him _‘Personal Objects as Amulets of Protection,'_ “and I came across something, look there where it is book-marked.”

Sam scanned the page, his eyes stopping at the illustrations of types of amulets that could be worn for protection. He looked up at her with wide eyes and a face gone pale. “How did you know what it looked like?”

“It was described very clearly in several of your Winchester Gospel books, as well as in the more recent ones I have read online. You do still possess it, no?”

Sam nodded and looked down at his hands, twisting in his lap, knuckles going white as he clamped them together. 

Delphine put her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to kiss him softly on the cheek. “Would it not make sense now for Dean to have the protection of his amulet again? If it is related to God in some manner we do not understand, perhaps it can repel his sister or at least safeguard against her attacks.”

Sam looked up at her with wide eyes and a cautious grin. “I hadn’t thought about it like that, I’ll give it to him when he gets back. I don’t know if he’ll want to wear it again, but maybe he would try wearing it at night at least. I know the nightmares are really starting to get to him.”

“Why would he not want to wear it, Sam?”

“You know, you read the books, he threw it away, Del. Right in front of me, made sure I saw it go in the trash. For a long time, it felt like it was my whole damn heart hitting the bottom of that can.”

“This still means a lot to you, Sam. Obviously it does, given your reaction. Is it not possible that he would feel the same?” she asked gently.

“I don’t know,” Sam said, shaking his head at the thought. 

She reached out and lifted his head up with a finger under his chin. “Yes, you do, Sam.” Delphine kissed him softly and left the room.

Sam stood up after getting himself together, ashamed to be so shaken about something he should have gotten over long ago. He tried to let it go as he went straight to his room, and dug around under his bed for the memory box he’d started keeping. There in the box in a hidden panel was a small black silk bag. He pulled it out and tucked it into his pocket.


	6. Part 5 of 7

He was quiet all through dinner, lost in thoughts and worries of how Dean was going to react. Dean kept shooting him worried looks and trying to engage him over their meal. Delphine jumped in several times to distract Dean with talk of the research they’d accomplished on the mechanics of re-opening Lucifer’s Cage. She offered to do the dishes and shooed them away, shooting Sam an encouraging smile.

He sat with Dean on the small couch where they kept the bar cart, drinking whisky out of the beautiful cut-glass tumblers. Not saying anything, just enjoying maybe the last bit of peace he’d have with his brother for a while.

“Why are you so damn jumpy tonight?” Dean asked, getting up to refill their glasses. 

Sam accepted his refilled glass and looked at Dean. “Nervous about something I have to do.”

Dean’s eyebrows went up, but he didn’t say anything, just sat back down next to Sam and sipped from his whisky glass.

Sam dug around in his pocket and pulled out the small black silk bag, holding it on his open palm. “Your nightmares with Amara are getting worse, every night now. And Del mentioned she thought that this might help.”

Dean set his glass down and took the bag from Sam. His eyes went wide as he felt the weight of it, the shape of the thing inside. He pulled the black cord and the amulet out and held it up swaying between them. 

“You’ve had this, all this time? And you’re just giving it back to me now?”

Sam nodded, heart in his throat, he couldn’t tell if Dean was mad or sad or what.

Dean put it over his head with hands that Sam could see were shaking, with anger or some other strong emotion. It wasn’t until Dean raised his head again that Sam could see it for what it really was, Dean’s smile was brilliant, clear and untroubled for the first time in six years, it was Dean’s old smile. The one he’d always worked so hard for, the one that meant he was one hundred percent on Sam’s side. “Thanks Sammy, I love it.” Dean stood up then and held a hand out to Sam. 

Sam looked at Dean’s outstretched hand for a long moment, this was going differently than he’d imagined it. Finally he grabbed onto Dean and stood up, surprised when Dean pulled him into a fierce hug. Sam held on for balance at first and then to give the hug back. The amulet pressed between their chests, a still-familiar sharp-edged reminder of their long history together.

“I’m going to pretend that this is back where it belongs for more reasons than just trying to help me with Amara.”

“You wouldn’t be pretending, Dean.”

“Good,” Dean said. 

Sam could see the signs of his brother shutting himself down from saying anything else. “Just say it. Dean, please just tell me.” He tightened his arms around Dean so he couldn’t get away easily.

“I haven’t felt a hundred percent like myself without it. Wish you’d given it back a long time ago.”

“Wish you hadn’t thrown it away in the first place,” Sam whispered struggling to keep the hurt out of his voice.

“Sammy, it wasn’t about you, or even you and me. It was all about God and Cas and all that shit that was going on. I regretted it the second I walked out that door.”

“Why didn’t you go back for it then?” Sam challenged, trying to back away from Dean but being stopped by his brother’s arms cinched around him even tighter.

Dean didn’t speak until Sam was looking him in the eye again. “I knew you’d pick it up for me. I knew you’d give it back to me when I deserved it again.”

Sam shook his head, vehement in his disagreement. “That’s not why I haven’t all this time. I didn’t think you wanted it back, Dean.”

“I’m sorry that you thought that. It explains a lot though,” Dean said, letting go of Sam and taking a few steps back.

“Like what?” Sam asked, feeling the prickling edges of old hurts and angers start to poke through where he’d buried them.

“The whole thing back in that church with Crowley, when I stopped you doing the last Trial. I really did a number on you, little brother, I’m sorry,” Dean said, turning to walk away.

Sam fought with himself momentarily to just let Dean go, like usual, let him run away from ever completing one of these talks they always avoided. But it was different this time, it was fundamental in a way to what they both needed. He knew Dean would stop if he started speaking, so he did. “When you first threw it away, I thought it meant you didn’t love me the same way anymore, and I didn’t blame you, after what I’d done. I didn’t love myself. And then you threw away your chance to say yes to Zachariah, just to save me, and I thought maybe there was a chance to get back to where we were. Then it was too late, and I was soul-less and you know all the rest. I swear it’s not that you didn’t deserve it back, Dean, it was that I wasn’t strong enough to take the risk of giving it to you.”

The whole time Sam had been speaking, Dean had stopped, slowly turned and then began drifting back towards Sam. When he finally stopped, Dean stepped close and laid his head on Sam’s chest, right over his heart. Sam’s arms instinctively went around Dean and held him close, melding them back together in a way that they hadn’t been in many years. There were no more layers of misunderstanding between them, it was open and raw and honest the way their bodies began to move against each other.

Sam’s hands were tilting Dean’s face up to meet his, so their lips could meet, their kiss blowing away any doubt that the other had been telling the truth. Their bodies could never lie the way their words had. So they didn’t speak as they guided each other to Sam’s room, to lay with each other on Sam’s bed with the door locked behind them, Delphine not forgotten but omitted from this reconciliation. This was between them, solely for them. Their hands were greedy, moving quickly, touching everywhere as if the skin was any different. But it was, because that barrier they’d kept between them all these years, between their hearts and souls had been a physical thing too. 

Dean’s touches were a revelation to Sam, they were gentle and demanding, like it was all new again to his brother, to have this, to get to feel all of Sam in this way. His lips explored all the places that Sam usually enjoyed but it meant more somehow, that his brother still wanted this, could bring him to such unexpected heights of pleasure. Sam opened to his brother’s touch in a new way that was achingly familiar; _this was how it used to be_ , his body was remembering, _this was what they’d been missing_. And without that hesitation and hurt between them, when Dean moved inside him, it felt much deeper than usual, like he was that much further inside Sam, reaching all the way into his heart, maybe even his soul. 

Sam came back to himself when Dean was cleaning him up, he let himself enjoy his brother’s gentle touch; then reached up to tug at the dangling amulet; pulling Dean down for a sloppy kiss. “I missed having this handle to grab onto,” Sam purred into Dean’s lips.

“Guess that’s fair, since I still have your hair to tug on,” Dean laughed into Sam’s mouth, yanking on the hair at the nape of Sam’s neck.

That laughter was suddenly filling Sam up with more joy than he’d ever thought he’d get to feel again. Sam’s heart filled up with it, greedily soaking up every last morsel of Dean’s laughter. Sam opened his eyes and laughed back up into Dean, giving him all of it and even more back. He imagined himself filling Dean up with the lightness of their joy at this reunion, maybe it was his only way to make a stand against something like the Darkness.

The night passed with only one short nightmare, and Dean remembered it all, explaining it to Sam after he’d calmed down. “She couldn’t get to me, Sammy. She was so angry about it, kept battering at me, but there was like this bubble of safety all around and I knew she couldn’t reach me. When I woke up, she was swearing that she’d find a way to make me come to her.”

Delphine was lying in Dean’s bed, the one they usually all ended up in at night, getting in some practice by reading the label of the old box of condoms they'd been using. The ones from the way in the back of Dean’s bedside table drawer he’d found that first night. Sam was still in bed next to her, Dean was out in the kitchen hopefully making them some coffee.  “Sam, what does: exp date eleven slash nine mean?”

“Let me see that, please,” Sam said with a panicked look on his face.

Delphine handed over the box and watched Sam examine the box and waited to hear what he was worrying about.

“They’re expired, by more than five years, that’s what that means. This is the economy sized box Dean kept in the Impala for years too, so they were worn out just from being in the hot car. I never thought to check what we were using.”

“And what happens when condoms expire or are overheated in a car? The ones in my time would have been too brittle to even use, the rubber wasn’t as stretchy as these ones.”

“They get microscopic holes, just sitting there in the package, and then when they get stretched to be used, well they don’t do the job they’re supposed to.”

“Hmmm…that might explain a few things I was attempting to avoid putting together,” Delphine said. 

“Go on,” Sam said, looking even more panicked.

“My breasts, they have been heavy,” Delphine said.

“I’ve noticed, but I wasn’t gonna say anythin’,” Dean interrupted from the doorway, he stood there holding three mugs of coffee. One look at Sam’s panicked face had him crossing the room to sit beside Sam and offer him a mug and rub him on the shoulder. “You okay, Sammy?”

“No! I mean…yes? Maybe, I don’t know yet, keep going, Delphine,” Sam said, mouth running a mile a minute. He tried to calm himself down by sipping at his coffee.

“For the last week or so, I have been nauseous every morning, and sometimes after eating. I am also several weeks past the point where my cycle should have begun.”

Dean’s face paled as he searched Sam’s face. “I see why you were looking worried now. Okay, well, what do we do now?”

“I’ll get one of those pregnancy test things when I’m on the grocery run today,” Sam said. “They’re supposed to be as accurate as the tests in a doctor’s office. One way or the other we need to know, right?”

“Right,” said Dean, nodding somewhat frantically, almost enough to slosh his coffee out of the mug.

“Right,” said Delphine, wrinkling her nose at the coffee in her mug, she set it down on the table. All in a rush she was up and out of the bed and hustling down the hallway to the bathroom. 

Sam went to check on her and heard her retching, and felt his own stomach turn over in sympathy.  He headed back into Dean’s room and sat back on the bed next to his brother. “She’s in there tossing her cookies, just from smelling coffee, or at the idea of having to bear our child.”

“Our child?” Dean asked in a far-away voice.

“Well, yeah, one of us is the father, right? Pretty sure she hasn’t been steppin’ out on us,” Sam said, almost angry at his brother’s non-response.

“We might be fathers, Sammy, it might actually happen,” Dean said, ducking his face out of Sam’s view.

“It’ll be okay, we’ll work it out somehow,” Sam said, not sure if he really believed it, but he knew Dean needed to hear it right then.

“It’s not that…I don’t want to bring a kid into this life, been there done that with Ben a little and it’s not something that ever seemed like a good idea to try again. As much as I like kids, this life is just not okay for them.”

“I agree, I will need to see a doctor soon then, if the child is not wanted by all of us,” Delphine said in a decisive tone from her position leaning up against the doorway. 

“That’s not what he meant, Delphine, it’s up to you, your choice, it’s not for Dean and me to tell you what to choose.”

“Well, what is it that you meant, Dean?” Delphine asked, eyes flashing in challenge.

“All I meant was that if we’re really havin’ a kid, then we’re going to have to figure out a way to stop hunting is all. That and figure out which room to turn into the nursery.”

Sam stared at Dean in surprise, then began smiling as the joy in his heart wasn’t possible to hold in any longer. He put an arm around Dean and hugged him close with his head on Dean’s shoulder. Sam looked up and saw Delphine hugging herself with a beaming smile, so he stood both of them up and pulled Delphine into the circle of their warm arms. “Like that idea, huh, Delphine?”

“Yes, yes, very much, perhaps this is the sign that the Letters does need to be re-started,” Delphine said into Sam’s chest.

“We’ll bring the kid up as a legacy, I promise,” Sam said. “Now that you’ve shown me where to find all the training materials, we’ll start them off early.”

“And we’ll give him or her some basic hunting training too,” Dean said, “so the kid will be well-rounded, able to keep themselves safe.”

Delphine took one of Sam and Dean’s hands and brought them to her lower belly. “We will all prepare our child to be able to take on the world.”

Delphine read the instructions over once again, shaking her head at the simplicity of it all. “I cannot believe that this is all it takes to perform this test. In my time, there were rabbits involved,” she said.

Sam took the paper from her and scanned it over, smiling at her. “It really is that easy. Hard to believe, I know, but just go and do it, okay? We all need to know, I’ll be out here waiting,” Sam said, smiling eagerly.

Delphine shut the bathroom door between them and Sam leaned up against the wall, banging his head gently a few times to calm down. He heard his brother’s footsteps approaching.

“Why are you lurking around outside the bathroom door?”

“Uh, waiting on Delphine to take her test,” Sam said.

“Why didn’t you come tell me she was doing it?” Dean asked.

“She was already freaking out as it was, I couldn’t have handled both of you at once when I am too,” Sam said.

Dean wormed one arm between the wall and Sam’s back, wrapping it around Sam’s waist to pull him in close. “I’m not freaking out. You know I gotcha, Sammy. This is gonna be a good thing.”

“How can you be so sure with Amara and Lucifer and everything we can’t nail down?” Sam asked all in a rush.

“World’s never been safer, we’re better trained, have more resources here in the bunker. We’ve got this, I just know we do.”

“You sound so sure I almost believe you,” Sam said, looking at his brother with hope and skepticism.

Dean leaned over and captured Sam’s mouth with his own, kissing him deeply, one of those kisses Sam knew was designed to make him get out of his own head and it worked just like always. He moaned quietly into Dean, embarrassed to always give it up so easily. 

The door opened then and Delphine was crashing into their embrace, kissing both of them and waving the white plastic stick around between them. Sam whooped and wrapped his arms around Delphine’s tiny waist, picking her up and spinning her around, passing her off to Dean who spun her once also. Sam hugged her from behind while she was still wrapped around Dean. 

“We’re going to be the best damn family of Hunter-Letters the world’s ever seen,” Dean said.

When Delphine confirmed she was pregnant they of course didn’t know which brother had fathered the baby. After some thought they realized this was pretty much the basis of their relationship, so the mystery would have to be fine by all of them. There wasn’t much thought given to an abortion after the initial discussion. Delphine didn’t want to jeopardize this one chance she might ever find to have a child, and neither did the brothers. It couldn’t be a more inconvenient time, as they continued to hunt for Amara and Lucifer. 

They decided to bring Delphine into town to visit the one local hunter-friendly doctor they'd found to get some prenatal care started. He was the son of the doctor that had patched up the Men of Letters when they’d needed it. Sam was the one who went with her to the appointment, they didn’t want to over-scandalize the guy past what he could handle. He examined Delphine and determined she was close to three months along. He gave them a referral to a local midwife who ran a small birthing center. Sam thought this would be a good alternative so that it wouldn’t be a house call situation which would be too risky in the bunker. 

Sam stopped with Delphine at the local drug store on the way home for the prescribed prenatal vitamins. 

She noticed the giant display of condoms and birth control and pointed at it. “Guess we should have paid more attention to that part of things.”

Sam laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I have a feeling this was just how it was all supposed to go.”


	7. Part 6 of 7

“Have you seen Dean today, Del?” Sam asked as he walked into the laundry room.

It was Delphine’s turn for laundry duty, something that she enjoyed, still not over the convenience of the new-fangled machinery. She pushed her hair back off her sweaty forehead and straightened up with a hand on her lower back. Her belly had extended out into a beautiful curve now that she’d gotten past the six month’s mark.

“I have not, and he is usually in the kitchen when I have breakfast. I thought he had made an extra trip out for supplies,” Delphine said.

“No, that’s not it, all the cars are still in the garage. And he doesn’t just go out on walks, that’s not his thing, that’s my thing,” Sam said.

“Sam, stay calm, breathe with me,” Delphine said, gripping Sam’s wrist hard and pinching.

Sam gasped in a breath, then consciously made himself take some deep breaths in time with Delphine. He hadn’t realized he was in panic mode, and he found himself absurdly grateful to have someone here with him. He kissed Delphine’s temple in thanks.

“I’m going to summon Crowley,” Sam said.

“That seems rather drastic, are you quite sure?”

“Yes, the last time this happened it was all Crowley’s fault, and we haven't seen him in a very long time,” Sam said.

“How can I help?” Delphine asked.

“Stay out of the dungeon, let me handle it,” Sam answered, disappearing down the hall at double time. 

Delphine growled under her breath and followed after him. Dean was important to more than just Sam, and she knew a thing or two about dealing with demons. She caught up to Sam just as he was lighting the ceremonial bowl.

“Do not say a word, Samuel,” Delphine said in a tone that she knew sounded very parental.

Sam just shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself. After a few minutes of waiting he began to pace back and forth the length of the dungeon. 

A small puff of red smoke appeared in the center of the devil’s trap, hovering in the air for a long moment before being replaced by Crowley.  “Moose, it’s much harder to get in here now. You’ve been busy little bees on the warding, well done for you. And pray tell, who is this lovely creature?”

“Shut up, Crowley, she’s none of your business. You need to tell me where Dean is, right now,” Sam demanded.

“I have not seen him, although we traded texts a few weeks ago. One of my informants tells me he was taken by Lucifer to meet with my niece.”

“You must desist in calling her that; she is not really your niece, Crowley, and everyone knows that. It makes you sound like a pompous windbag,” Delphine said.

“Oh I do quite like the mouth on her,” Crowley said approvingly.

“Do you know where Amara is or not?” Sam asked, his own mouth set in a hard line.

“I do, but it isn’t a place you want to go. At least…not again,” Crowley said, smiling at him with that smarmy sly look that Sam had always wanted to permanently erase.

“Purgatory?” Sam guessed.

“Got it in one! Well done, Moose, you’re on fire today,” Crowley chortled.

“Take me there. I know the reapers have a back door there from Hell,” Sam demanded.

“I am not a reaper, and I do not have a way to open that particular door,” Crowley answered.

“I thought you were the King of Hell!” Delphine shouted, “How can you not control all of the exits?”

“The realm of Purgatory has never been under Hell’s control. That’s all the other team, darling,” Crowley purred.

Sam shouted out the banishing spell and Crowley vanished, taking his leering eyes and smarmy smile with him. Delphine waved away the lingering red smoke and wrapped an arm around Sam’s waist. “What now?”

“I’ll have to call on our reaper friend, Billie,” Sam said.

“No! Dean would not want that, Sam you know that. I can’t let you,” Delphine implored as Sam tried to detach her arm from its tight grip on him.

“It’s the only way. I can’t just leave him with Amara, she’s going to absorb him until he doesn’t exist and I can’t, Del…I just can’t,” Sam said with finality. 

Delphine was about to start running after Sam’s retreating form when she heard the crash in the storage room several doors down from the dungeon. She walked into the dark room, cautious at first until she found the light switch. There was something moving around in the back, and then she heard a human sounding cough. Out of the shadows the person moved towards her, covered in dirt from somewhere muddy and a new layer of dust from this room. “Dean! How did you get back here? Oh no, Sam,” she said, heart sinking as she thought of what Sam had gone off to do.

“What about Sam?” Dean asked, eyes darting around the room quick and feral unlike she’d ever seen him.

“He’s about to call on a reaper to try and rescue you from Purgatory,” Delphine said in a rush. “He just left me, run! Please, you have to stop him, Dean!”

Dean took off at a dead run down the hallway, not caring about whether Delphine could keep up, intent on getting to Sam before he did the unthinkable. He began screaming Sam’s name as he ran, hoping to make enough noise to stop him in time. At the end of the hall, the light was on in Sam’s room and Dean sprinted the rest of the way. Sam was laid out on the bed, dead still, but barely breathing. 

“Sammy, it’s me, I’m back! What the hell did you do?” Dean scanned the room and saw the empty bottle of painkillers on the bedside table. He checked Sam over quickly, pupils were tiny pinpricks, his breathing was more and more shallow and his fingertips were going blue. He turned Sam onto his side and stuck his fingers down Sam’s throat, praying with everything he had to whoever the hell happened to be listening. As Sam vomited weakly off the side of the bed, Dean couldn’t stop the flow of words coming out of him, “You can’t have him yet, you can’t take him, he’s mine, I need him. Let him go, damn you, Billie!”

Billie flickered into view at the foot of the bed and shook her head at him. “We have got to stop meeting like this, Dean. I warned you both that it was permanent this time—“ her words stopped as a thin golden chain appeared around her wrists. “What the hell is this now?” she demanded.

“It is I who hold you leashed, Billie. You will bring Sam back now,” Delphine said, entering the room holding the other end of the near-invisible golden chain.

“Oh little girl, you have no clue what you’ve done,” Billie threatened.

“I know exactly what I have done, and I swear you will be leashed to me and mine for the rest of our lives unless you do this for me. Now, reaper, now!” Delphine shouted, shaking her end of the chain.

Billie rolled her eyes and lifted a few fingers in Sam’s direction. Sam’s body jerked and then seem to take on more presence and weight. Dean grabbed Sam’s shoulders, shaking him. “Sammy!”

Sam opened his eyes to slits and wiped weakly at his mouth. “’s that you, Dean?”

Dean laughed with relief and pulled Sam up into a hug. “You idiot, jumping the gun like always.”

“Release me now, or that child of yours will not see her first birthday,” Billie threatened.

“Why would I when you are continuing to threaten me?” Delphine asked. “You must know that we are battling the Darkness. Why would you want all of God’s work to be undone?”

“It’s not really my gig. I’m filling in for Death. You know, the all-powerful force that your buddy here decided to kill instead of his precious Sammy.”

“So it is for revenge that you would let our world be erased?” Delphine asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Billie said, sounding a little more uncertain.

“Can you not understand what love makes we humans do? Dean had no choice, not with how they have lived their lives, surely this is no mystery to you, Billie.”

“Sure, I guess, doesn’t bring my boss back though,” Billie said.

“I’m sorry for that, Billie, I am,” Dean said. “Death was always more than fair to me, but I couldn’t do that to Sam. I wasn’t strong enough.”

“Billie, is it possible that if Amara is locked up again, Death would come back?” Sam asked in a weak voice, head lolling against Dean’s shoulder.

Billie tilted her head as she thought about it. “I don’t know, I hadn’t thought of it really. Okay, I’ll back off and let you guys give it a try, okay?”

Delphine undid the binding spell and the golden chain disappeared from around Billie’s wrists.

Billie pointed at Delphine and then at her swollen belly. “Make sure you take care of that child. She will be important in all of this.” She winked out of existence then and the three humans remaining looked at each other in shock.

“Guess we don’t need to go get that sonogram, huh?” Dean joked as he straightened Sam’s shirt.

“Stop it, don’t joke, Dean, not now. What happened to you?” Sam asked.

“I was outside, taking out the trash this morning and I guess I stepped outside of the warding lines. Then Cas was there—Lucifer I mean, he grabbed me and I was in Purgatory where Amara was tearing everything up. She tried to absorb me, like she’d threatened to, but she couldn’t, something strange happened.”

“What, stranger than being in Purgatory?” Sam asked with a small grin.

“Yeah, you know how she has the Mark of Cain on her chest here?” Dean asked, pointing to a spot above his heart. “It started sparking like it was catching on fire because there was this gold light and it was coming from this.” Dean gripped the amulet around his neck.

“It really did protect you then,” Delphine said, clapping her hands excitedly.

“It sure as hell did, thanks, Del. So, she uh, threw me out of there. Right out of Purgatory back into the storage room downstairs. I guess it was to try and get the amulet away from her or something? Maybe it was hurting her, I don’t know.”

Delphine stepped towards both of them and enclosed them in her arms, round belly fitting into the space between them. “We’ve got you back, Dean, that is all that matters now.”

Delphine was a week past her due date and she was either pacing up and down the stairs or lying in bed, expecting at least one of them to be there to rub her back. All of them were a little antsy for this baby thing to actually happen. They were lying together in bed, Delphine between the two of the brothers so they could each be touching her as much as possible. She was so relaxed from all the attention that she finally felt able to share something that had been on her mind for the last few months.

“I have never told you, what I mean is that it never came up. But I have been dreaming about it lately, about having this conversation with you. It has to do with my heritage, I am the last of a long line, called the Mary Line, that the Men of Letters had researched for many years. It was said, not that I ever really believed it, but that I am directly descended from Mary,” Delphine finished, looking up at both of them expectantly.

Dean spoke first, “Mary, as in _the_ Mary the mother of _the_ Jesus.”

Delphine nodded.

“And you weren’t supposed to live. I mean, if you hadn’t been brought here by Lucifer along with Dean…then the line would have ended with you, right? And now, in this time, the Mary Line will continue. I wonder if that changes anything?” Sam asked, suddenly excited at the possibilities.

“But we’re from what’s probably an even older line though, one that the angels arranged so that we’d be born and end up the vessels for Michael and Lucifer, I think Cas or Zachariah said it went back to Cain and Abel. Huh, maybe that’s why I got along so well with Cain. Anyway, I wonder if it not only changes something, but combining the Mary Line with the one we’re from means anything?” Dean asked.

“She’s going to be special to us. That is all I really know. I just wanted to tell you this thing, just in case,” Delphine said.

“Just in case what?” Sam asked.

“Well, childbirth is not always safe for the mother, you know that, Sam,” Delphine said.

“It’s not the nineteen-forties, it’s a whole lot safer now. C’mon, Delphine, we’ve got the midwife and doctor all ready for you, you know that. It’s going to be fine,” Dean said.

“I know, I know. It is just a mother’s worry, or perhaps I am trying to develop one,” Delphine said.

Sam and Dean wrapped her up between them under the covers, rubbing gently at her extended curve of a belly. Dean was humming under his breath. Delphine soon fell asleep from their gentle ministrations. 

“Dean,” Sam whispered, “you need to hum something besides Metallica to the baby.”

“She already loves it and she’s not even born yet,” Dean whispered back, “you've got all the other lullabies covered, Sammy.”

“Why’d she tell us all that, do you think?” Sam asked.

“Worst-case scenario thinking, maybe? Or like she said, it used to be more risky back in her time.”

“You think this whole heritage thing might mean anything?” Sam asked.

“No idea, I just know that she’s gonna be an awesome kiddo,” Dean answered.

Delphine woke up the next morning, ate a huge breakfast and then her water broke as she took her shower. The brother’s ability to function during crisis seemed to disappear. Even though they had a go-bag prepared and had rehearsed their roles, there was still a lot of unnecessary hustling around in the hallways. After they were all finally in the Impala, it was a quick trip to the midwife’s birthing center. 

This time they both went, with a prepared story about Dean being a very involved brother and uncle. Hopefully the midwife wouldn’t care too much and concentrate on the whole birthing thing. Delphine was quite vocal the whole way there, gripping Sam’s hand so tightly he thought he might lose the use of it for a while. So it was a damn good thing Dean was driving. 

Dean looked in the mirror and locked eyes with Sam for a long moment; the terror and excitement and love all swirling around in his brother’s gaze made Sam’s heart skip because he was feeling all of it too. Their lives were never going to be the same from this day forward.

Delphine switched over to holding Sam’s other hand to give him a break and then they were finally there. Sam carried her inside, bridal-style since she was in the middle of a powerful contraction, and Dean followed behind with the go-bag they’d actually managed to remember to bring along. 

The midwife met them at the door and showed them back to the delivery space, it was airy and light, very comfortable with a lot of options for how Delphine could deliver. She chose to start out walking in-between her contractions, being supported by one of the brothers. Then she wanted to have the comfort of warm water so they all got into the delivery tub. Her contractions sped up then, like the baby knew they were all in position. 

The midwife arrived back in the room in time to help Delphine out of tub so she could begin pushing. Delphine held onto both Sam and Dean, and one arm each would have a small hand-shaped bruise for weeks afterward. But they didn’t care. The powerful woman between them was truly awesome, they’d never witnessed anything even close to this. She was a wild thing, pushing and breathing and straining and howling French curse words that Sam didn’t want to ever try to translate. 

There wasn’t too long of a wait until the baby’s head was out and then the body slipped through. Sam cut the cord while Dean held onto Delphine’s shoulders. The midwife cleaned up the baby and handed her to Delphine. There was an electric moment between the three of them then. This had sealed them together for the rest of their lives no matter what came next. The fact that this new life that they’d all had a part in creating was finally out in the world, in her very hands wasn’t something that could be denied. The baby was perfect in that way that most newborns are if one is lucky, pink and perfect, a shock of thick dark hair and scrunched up dark blue eyes.

“She’s a miracle, isn’t she? That through all time, I found you, that we made her together. I name her Marveille, which means Miracle. You can call her Mari, after your mother, for her short name.”

“Delphine, it’s perfect for her. I knew you’d find the right name,” Sam said, folding her and the baby into a soft hug. 

Marveille stirred then and began rooting around on Delphine’s chest. She leaned back and lifted the baby to her breast, and the midwife stepped in to help the latch position be the best it could be from the start. It was then that the miracle of the whole thing hit Sam. Together, he and his brother, they’d participated in making a whole new precious being. _Was there any other high like this worth having?_ He met Dean’s eyes over Delphine’s head and felt himself fall forward into their green depths. There were a few tears on Dean’s cheeks too, and he looked the happiest Sam had ever seen him. 

Finally getting something you’d given up ever having or even wanting was terrifying while simultaneously being the best feeling in the world. Sam felt like he could have flown them all around the world on a sudden burst of feeling and power. 

Dean clamped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed a few times. It broke Sam out of it, the feeling of letting loose deep inside much too similar to the high of using his old demon powers. Of course they weren’t there anymore, but that familiar feeling still was. And it stopped everything for Sam for a moment remembering how using those powers had made him feel, something so separate from the demon blood, more pure and innate and just his and his alone. But then Marveille began to cry and the world started up again for him. 

Sam helped re-swaddle her and the midwife showed him how to burp the baby. Delphine looked up at him with such love and contentment and exhaustion it took his breath away. But then he saw Dean swoop in to hold Delphine close and all he could do was smile. His whole body felt the joy of that smile, it swept through him and he finally felt clean, so clean inside after a whole lifetime of feeling soiled and wrong. And it was all because of this little one, this little miracle that he held in his arms, their Marveille.

Almost six months had gone by and their household was constantly sleep-deprived due to being up with the baby or researching. They had found more and more information about warding against angels, and set those up all around the bunker. There were woolen cloaks they had to wear whenever they left the bunker that had been en-spelled with the same wards, and luckily they seemed to work, or maybe Lucifer had been called off their case by Amara.

Delphine had been instrumental in helping Sam and Dean figure out some of the crucial things about the Letters’ operations that they hadn’t been able to discover on their own. There were detailed training manuals that had been en-spelled to look like yet another set of encyclopedias as well as implements of initiation. She performed the initiation on both of them while Marveille napped in Dean’s bedroom one afternoon, so that they would know how to do it themselves, just in case.

They were all relaxing on Dean’s bed after the ceremony, taking the chance to doze while the baby was asleep. 

“How does it feel to be official Men of Letters now?” Delphine asked.

“Not one bit different,” Dean growled, grumpy to be woken up out of his doze.

Sam slapped at Dean’s shoulder and laughed. “It’s good, Del. Now I won’t feel guilty looking at all the Letters Only stuff in the archives.”

Marveille woke up when she heard Sam laugh, gurgling happily in her crib.

Delphine brought her into the bed with them, sitting her up against her legs so Marveille could look at all three of them.

“She definitely has your eyes, Dean, look at how green they are now,” Delphine pointed out, reviving a long-running argument they’d been having.

“No, she’s got Sammy’s. They’re always a different color, just like his,” Dean argued.

“I think they’re most like yours, Delphine,” Sam said.

“You’re just being difficult, not wanting to take sides!” Dean protested.

“Yeah, so what if I’m smart that way? She’s beautiful, and she’s all ours, no matter who’s the father, and that’s all that matters to me,” Sam said, stomping out of the bedroom with Marveille bundled up in his arms.

Dean and Delphine gaped after him for a few moments, then looked at each other and burst into laughter. 

“He’s got our number, doesn’t he?” Delphine gasped in a fit of laughter.

“And he’s got our daughter. I’m gonna go after him,” Dean said, laughing as he dashed out the bedroom door towards the baby noises coming from the kitchen.

“Yes, you can drink all of this, I know you can, Mari,” Sam’s voice said, soothing and even.

Dean heard Sam chuckle and peeked around the doorway. His brother held their baby in his arms, soft cotton woven blanket wrapped around her, feeding her a warmed up bottle of formula. Mari had one of her small hands around the bottle and was sucking vigorously, but was also holding onto Sam’s pinky finger with an iron grip. Dean’s heart flipped over several times and seemed to expand in his chest. He’d never thought he’d get to see this sight. His beautiful, strong brother, completely wrapped up in a baby, a baby that was theirs. It was too perfect and Dean blinked back tears that were suddenly threatening, because it couldn’t last, he knew it couldn’t. Nothing this good ever did for them. He tried not to concentrate on the ill foreboding feelings and on his brother’s peaceful face full of happiness and love. 

“You can come in, just don’t wake her up,” Sam said in a whisper. “She's almost back asleep.”

“Guess I need quieter shoes,” Dean said, coming closer to the peaceful scene. He hugged Sam from behind, peering at Mari over his brother’s shoulder.

“I always hear you, you know that,” Sam said, turning his head to kiss Dean’s forehead.

“We have a baby, Sammy,” Dean said, his voice trembling and full of wonder, and he heard himself getting mushy and he just didn’t care. Sam needed to know what this meant to him.

“I know, Dean, I’m holding her,” Sam said with that beautiful, edible smile that made Dean want to gobble him up immediately.

Dean went on tiptoes to reach Sam’s mouth, careful not to disturb Mari in his arms. He kissed Sam as well as he could with a baby between them, attempting to communicate the depth of his feeling about the way their life had changed. Dean sank back down to the floor, ending the kiss. Sam looked a little stunned, so some of it must have gotten through.

“It means everything’s changed now, doesn’t it?” Sam said, rocking her gently. “It’s all so much more important that we figure out how to get rid of Amara and cage up Lucifer again without either of us dying. Because she needs us now, and Delphine too, it’s not just us anymore, Dean.”

“Whatever this is that we’ve made here, together with Delphine, this family, it’s what we’re fighting for. And we’re going to win, Sammy, because there’s no other choice. We grind it out until we’ve got a plan. We’re getting there, and we’ll do it, together, with Delphine,” Dean said, holding his brother and daughter safely in his arms.


	8. Part 7 of 7

Just as Dean had guessed, their time of peace was short, Amara and Lucifer finally came calling. God had never answered the call that Amara had sent out by torturing Lucifer. And Lucifer had somehow cajoled her to let him ‘help’ her. 

They were all sitting down to dinner one night, Marveille snug in Dean’s arms, when all four of them were suddenly transported to an all-too-familiar-place, Stull Cemetery in Lawrence. They stumbled and tried to hold each other up at the sudden change from seated to standing.

“Why the hell are we here, Lucifer?” Sam demanded, holding onto Delphine’s shoulders. 

“It had to be here, Sammy,” Lucifer wheedled. The familiar form of Cas was barely recognizable at this point, shredded and flayed, a shambles of a human being. 

“You’re not looking so hot there, Lucy,” Dean taunted.

“Aren’t you so sweet to be concerned, that won’t be a problem for me for very much longer,” Lucifer said. While his words still echoed in the emptiness of the cemetery, a sudden blaze of angel grace tore through what remained of Castiel’s vessel, the grace flew through the space between them and enveloped Sam, knocking him flat on his back. 

Sam screamed out one long continuous “No!” that turned into Lucifer’s laugh.

“Sorry, not sorry, Sammy. Once a yes, always a yes, that’s how this vessel gig works. I was just kidding ya when we were in the Cage, guess you guys didn’t figure that out, huh?”

Amara held Dean back purely by her will, so he wasn’t able to do a thing to try to help Sam, he couldn’t even speak, he just screamed and wailed with his eyes. Anything but this again, he wished with his whole soul that it could be him, he wished he could ask for Lucifer to take him instead. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right that his brother had to go through this again. 

Just as he was screaming all that in his head, trying to get through to Sam through pure force of will, something unthinkably worse took over his focus. Dean found himself handing Marveille over to Amara without her even having to ask. Dean could just barely hear Delphine screaming for him to stop, and it momentarily made him able to resist. Dean could feel his muscles straining and bunching as he pushed at Amara’s will with everything he had. But it was useless, Amara, being the Darkness, she held the power of their bond over him and used all of it to compel him to release the now-squalling baby into her arms. The amulet did nothing at all to protect his baby, and he wished he’d wrapped it around her somehow.

As the transfer was happening, there was a dip in Amara’s control, so Delphine tried to come at Amara to tear Marveille away from her, but she was once again held against one of the headstones as if by iron clamps on all her limbs. 

Sam’s body, now possessed by Lucifer regained his feet and brushed off the seat of his jeans. Lucifer walked a few steps away from Amara, and turned to face her with his feet planted wide and strong, rooted to the Earth below him. He spoke some words of Enochian and held out both hands towards Amara. A stream of undiluted angel grace tinted with angry redness that seemed sharper than anything Dean had ever seen swarmed through the air towards Amara.

Amara didn’t react at first, she had assumed she’d be immune to any and all attacks by any of these lesser beings. Especially a lying, double-crossing one like Lucifer. “You were to serve me, Lucifer! Not attempt to slay me again!” Her face transformed into one of unhinged fury, she clutched Marveille closer to her chest and braced herself as the energy came closer with a burning, churning heat beyond what should be possible on the face of Earth.

Just as the stream was about to strike Amara, Delphine found herself momentarily free of Amara’s control, no doubt Amara was using her powers either for an attack or a shield, so Delphine launched herself in front of her baby to try to shield her from the stream of pure power flowing out of Lucifer.

At that same moment, Sam struggled for control with Lucifer. He’d done it once before, he could do it now. As soon as he saw that his baby was in danger, all the protective father-love welled up in him and he launched himself at the essence of Lucifer deep inside himself, pinning him easily and wresting back control of his body. He was able to force his hands down just enough to miss Marveille with the energy stream, as she squirmed in Amara’s arms. 

As he fully took over his body again, Sam realized that the stream of energy was still coming out of his hands. It was stronger than anything he had ever felt, the power was immense, well-beyond just the will of the angel. Sam had to assume that the energy was the essence of the angel, Lucifer. It was Lucifer expending himself, using his grace to annihilate Amara once and for all. As Sam controlled the energy stream, he could feel that it was also his friend, Castiel, expending his lesser power in unison with Lucifer, both eager to take out the force that threatened all of their Father’s creation. 

Sam used all of his will to push both of the angels’ grace together, twining it together with the old powers he hadn’t used since releasing Lucifer from the Cage. He felt the space in his head where they’d always been come alive with a strength that flooded into every atom of his body. He directed it, shaped it into a tighter, stronger stream at Amara, controlling it so that the energy would miss his daughter, but it would reach Amara and remove this threat from his world and his daughter.

Because of the redirection, as Delphine jumped she was hit by the stream of this intensely focused power, the red sharpness ripping through her fragile human body. She was successful in deflecting the edge of it away from Marveille, but the rest of it hit the center of her body, exploding all of her into a fine red mist that flew up to coat Marveille and Amara and part of Dean. 

The shock of Delphine’s disintegration seemed to break Dean out of Amara’s hold, he lunged towards her, grabbing one of Amara’s arms turning her towards him and reaching for Marveille, but this moved the baby into the stream of angel-powered destruction and once the power felt the touch of the baby’s flesh, it was like she absorbed the energy as quickly as a dry sponge soaking up spilled milk. All of it was pulled out of Sam, both Castiel and Lucifer gone in an enormous flooding flash of light and heat and energy barely contained, all channeled into the tiny body of Marveille, transforming her into something that Amara was no longer able to hold. In all the places Amara’s skin touched Marveille’s she began to disintegrate into an inky black chalk powder that fell to the ground at her own feet. Amara’s arms were gone, then her middle too, and the rest of her consumed like a chalk eraser had wiped her out. 

_Amara was gone._

_Completely and totally gone._

_Erased from the world once again._

Somehow Marveille remained, hovering in the super-charged air at the same height she’d been held by the Darkness. Dean took the last step towards her and pulled his child into his chest, heedless of the power she still contained. Sam was across the space between them in a few steps and helped Dean hold their baby as the power exited the small body they held. It shot straight up into the night sky, brilliant and shining as an angel’s grace always was. This time twice as bright as two unleashed comets departed the surface of the Earth. 

Sam averted his eyes, focusing only on his daughter’s face, but Dean watched, able to see the remainder of the angels that were formerly Lucifer and Castiel departing the world for the last time, their expended grace launching them back to Heaven and the stars or wherever dead angels ended up.

Sam and Dean held their baby and each other until the angel light faded away and they were left alone in the empty cemetery. Their woman was gone, but their child was safe in their arms. Sam’s tears fell on Marveille’s face and she fussed at them, a normal baby noise that was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. Dean wiped Sam’s tears away from Marveille’s cheeks and then kissed them off of Sam’s. 

“It’s over, Sammy. I don’t feel her control anywhere, she’s really truly gone.”

“Lucifer and Cas are both gone too, I’m sorry, Dean.”

“About what?”

“Delphine, and Cas, I wish I could have…”

“Sammy, stop, there’s nothing you could have done, Cas chose this, all those months ago, just like you said. And Delphine was just doing what any mother would do, trying to save her baby. I couldn’t do either because Amara was holding me back. You can’t be sorry, you beat Lucifer again, and I saw it. You directed that angel grace somehow didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. I don’t know how, but the powers I had, they were still there inside me, in the same place, and I could use them, I focused it, because it was both Lucifer and Cas kind of expending themselves. It had to be woven together to make it strong enough.”

“What the hell did Mari do though?” Dean asked.

“She was some kind of conduit, maybe the Mary Line thing, plus our heritage made her able to handle the angel grace? I don’t know, and she can’t really tell us, can she?” Sam said, tickling at Marveille’s feet that were kicking out at his hands as Dean held her tight.

“So our kid was the key to saving the world from the Darkness…”

“Looks like Billie was right. I don’t think any of this would have worked without all of us though. We all had our parts to play, whether we knew it or not.”

“Let’s go home, huh?” Dean asked, wiping at Mari’s face and then his own with a bandana, the red mist that had been Delphine cleared off much too easily for what it represented.

“Should we do anything, uh…you know, for Delphine here?” Sam asked, glancing around the empty cemetery.

“She’s gone, Sammy. You saw it, right? Poof, just like Cas the first time we were here. We could put up a marker, I guess, is that what you mean? Like the one for mom?”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant. I know you don’t believe in that stuff, but it’s important to me. And I’d like to be able to show it to Mari at some point.”

“I get it. So we’ll do it. For now, I’ll do this though,” Dean said, handing Marveille to Sam then bending down to pile up the pieces of crumbled headstones into a cairn in the approximate spot where Delphine had perished. “No one comes here, obviously, so I think it’ll do until we can get a headstone made up.”

Sam cradled Mari closer to his chest and tried to smile as Dean stood up. “Thanks, Dean.”

“C’mon, let’s figure out how to get back home, huh? That bitch brought us way out here without my Baby,” Dean complained.

Headlights washed over them as they exited through the arched gateway. A large pick-up truck pulled up and the driver’s window rolled down.

“You boys sure look like you could use a ride,” a woman’s voice said in the dark night between them. Her face was lit by the glow of the dashboard and she looked familiar.

“Missouri?” Sam asked, a sudden flare of hope kindled inside him as he held his daughter close.

“Oh Sam, of course you’d know,” Missouri said, her white smile now a visible flash.

“No shit, it’s really you, Missouri?” Dean said, walking towards the truck and peering in the window.

“Dean Winchester, control that mouth ‘a yours. You’ve got your baby to think of!” Missouri chastised with that enthusiastic motherly voice of command.

Dean leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Missouri, I’d like to introduce you to our daughter, Marveille Seydoux Winchester.”

Sam held Mari up to the window of the truck and Missouri reached out a wrinkled hand to touch the baby’s fingers gently. “Oh my word, she’s just as pretty as a picture, isn’t she? Just like I knew she’d be.”

“You knew?” Sam asked.

“Why do you think I’m here in the middle of the night picking you three up?” Missouri said, sarcastic as ever.

“But we don’t have a car-seat with us,” Sam said, feeling absurd the minute he voiced this concern. His little girl had just triumphed over the freaking Darkness. She could probably survive a single unsecured car ride.

“Sam Winchester, would you please just take a look in my back seat? This little girl just saved the whole danged world, of course I have a car-seat ready for her!”

Sam shook his head and walked around to the passenger side, opened the door to the back seat and buckled Mari into a car-seat that was the exactly correct size for her. He climbed into the seat next to Mari so Dean could ride up front with Missouri.

“Seat belts, gentlemen, or this truck ain’t goin’ anywhere,” Missouri said with a laugh in her voice. “Can’t lose the Saviors of the World to any darn car crash.”

Dean grumbled about saving the damn world and not needing a damn seatbelt as he clicked his closed but then he turned and caught Mari’s eye over the back of the seat. She was smiling that open, mostly gummy baby smile, as wide as ever, pleased as anything to be in a new vehicle, listening to a new person. She gurgled and pointed at Missouri. “Yeah baby, that’s Missouri, she’s a lady that’s always known when we needed her.”

Missouri chuckled and put the truck in gear, pulling away from Stull. “I’m real sorry about the mother, I was hoping to meet her.”

“Me too, Delphine would have liked you,” Dean said, turning back to look at Sam’s long-past-sad eyes. The tears that threatened to fall held there in Sam’s eyelashes, sparkling as the headlights from passing cars found them. Dean sighed, feeling this rush of love for his beautiful brother. He tried to express it with his eyes since he couldn’t say anything with Missouri sitting there next to him. 

Sam blinked with acceptance, letting a few of the tears fall. He was distracted by Mari tugging on his sleeve. Sam leaned in to give her a raspberry blow on her cheek. She giggled and the sadness that was enveloping Sam was halted in its tracks. This right here, this is what Delphine died for. They were safe, the world was safe, Marveille was safe. And that had to be enough. It had to count as a win. He reached forward and set a hand on Dean’s right shoulder, safe in the dark from Missouri’s eyes. Sam squeezed Dean’s shoulder, transmitting it’s-going-to-be-okay vibes the best he could. He knew his brother’s tender bruised heart would be slow to heal, but he had to get him through this first, hard part. They both had to for Mari.

They drove through the outskirts of Lawrence and pulled up to Missouri’s small, neat house. Mari had fallen asleep, so Sam took her out very slowly to try and make it into the house before she woke up. Missouri led them inside and gestured up the stairs, they headed up and she opened one of the doors to a small bedroom with a double bed and a cradle next to it. She pointed across the hall at the bathroom, smiled and shut the door. 

Just like that they were just three. Sam and Dean looked at each other and shared smiles filled with equal amounts of joy and sadness. Sam laid Mari down in the cradle and set it to gently rocking. She snuggled into the blankets and settled back to sleep. Dean had taken his boots off and tip toed out of their room across the hall. Sam heard the water running and knew he was taking a shower, washing off the rest of the red mist that had been Delphine.

He got himself tucked into bed and was nearly asleep by the time Dean joined him. Freshly washed, eyes deeply red from crying in the shower. Sam opened his arms and Dean slid into them, laying his head on Sam’s chest and wrapping an arm around his waist. Their breathing synced within a few minutes, Sam could feel himself drifting off to sleep. 

“She really is our miracle, isn’t she, Sammy?” Dean whispered, sounding like he was on the edge of sleep.

“Ours and the whole damn world, Dean. And we’re all she’s got now,” Sam answered, holding Dean a little closer.

“We’ll have to be enough. We’ll do right by Delphine, we have to,” Dean said, tightening his grip on Sam and nuzzling into the crook of his neck. 

Sam kissed the pulse point on Dean’s wrist softly, feeling the strong life flowing through his brother.

They woke up to Mari’s morning warning cries that meant she needed attending to pretty quickly. Sam rolled out of bed, scooped her up and brought her into the warmth between he and Dean. “Just for a second, then I gotta go find out if Missouri’s got baby food and diapers for us.”

Dean crooned one of his made-up tunes for Mari and her eyes lit up with delighted recognition. She chortled along with him, making Sam laugh at the two of them. 

Through the momentary joy of his laughter, Sam realized that after all the harrowing events and loss they'd just experienced, he and Dean treasured each other even more. And now that they had a new life to think about, nothing would ever be the same for them again. Everything about that idea made him happier than he’d ever thought possible.

_~La Fin~_


End file.
